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Tending a 'Comfortable Wilderness
^4 History of Agricultural Landscapes on North Manitou Island,
Sleeping Bear Dunes National l^akeshore, Michigan
Eric MacDonald
with
Arnold R. Alanen
CD
to
o
o
o
U.S. Department of the Interior
National Park Service
Midwest Field Office
Omaha, Nebraska
2000
Tending a 'Comfortable Wilderness'
A. History of Agricultural 'Landscapes on North Manitou Island,
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lake shore, Michigan
Eric MacDonald
with
Arnold R. Alanen
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Department of Landscape Architecture
U.S. Department of the Interior
National Park Service
Midwest Field Office
Omaha, Nebraska
2000
Preface
This project builds upon three previous studies of historic agriculture
at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (SBDNL). These have
focused on: (1) an overview of the agricultural and settlement history
of the two-county SBDNL region; (2) an assessment of the agricul-
tural landscapes and cultural resources at Port Oneida, an important
part of the lakeshore's mainlan unit; and (3) an assessment of agricul-
tural and cultural resources on South Manitou Island. This report
examines agricultural and cultural resources on North Manitou
Island.
Like nearby South Manitou Island, Euro-American settlement
on North Manitou preceded such activities on the mainland. Agricul-
ture was evident on the island as early as the 1850s, and additional
agriculturists arrived during the 1870s and 1880s after the cessation of
logging for cordwood. A distinctive facet of North Manitou's early
agricultural history is the high proportion of Scandinavian immi-
grants in the population. Although little remains of the original
buildings and field patterns from the nineteenth century, homestead
records and the manuscript schedules for the agricultural and popula-
tion censuses served to document previous activities.
Few structures remain in the backcountry areas of North
Manitou, although a number of extant structures are located in the
island's principal village. Several of these structures have been docu-
mented in previous efforts. Whenever possible and necessary, accounts
of the historic villages, and their buildings, were incorporated into
and discussed as part of the overall agricultural and settlement
history. The project comprised the following objectives:
in
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
(1) To trace the evolution and determine the over all signifi-
cance of agricultural, settlement, and ethnic patterns on North
Manitou Island.
(2) To make detailed assessments of the homestead claims
and, when documentation permits, trace the evolution of these
homestead properties through time.
(3) To undertake a detailed and thorough study of North
Manitou's orchard operations, especially those associated with the
Manitou Island Association, since this facet of corporate agriculture
may have been most repsonsible for shaping the island's cultural
landscape.
(4) To document, to the extent possible, the extant agricultural
features that still remain or are discernable on North Manitou Island.
(5) To link, whenever possible, those structures and landscapes
associated with resorts, life saving, fishing, and other activties to the
history of agriculture on the island.
(6) To evaluate the significance and integrity of extant struc-
tures and landscapes on North Manitou within the context of island
agricultural history and development.
(7) To recommend priorities for preserving the identified
resources that may be considered by Lakeshore management.
In pursuit of these objectives, the project also intended to
identify those relict agricultural features on North Manitou Island
that appear to meet the criteria for inclusion in the National Register
of Historic Places, and those resources that possess high potential for
interpretation. Building upon the Ust of Classified S tinctures and
Cultural Landscape Inventory prepared by NPS staff members in 1993
and 1994, documentation of the island's cultural landscapes, buildings,
and structures was undertaken using accepted fieldwork techniques.
Additional inventories and sources provided by lakeshore staff
members and others were utilized. When sufficient evidence re-
mained, measured drawings were made of extant buildings and
structural remnants, along with the documentation of landscape
features. In assessing the integrity and significance of the resources,
comparisons were made, whenever possible, with the two other
agricultural areas of the lakeshore that have been documented: Port
Oneida and South Manitou Island. As at South Manitou, North
Manitou's island setting required that special emphasis be given to
such unique environmental characteristics as climate, soils, and
vegetation.
Eric MacDonald
Arnold R. Alanen
Madison, Wisconsin
IV
Ackn o wledgem en ts
Many people contributed time, energy, and talent to the successful
completion of this project. Sherda Williams, of the National Park
Service (NPS), Midwest Field Office, in Omaha, Nebraska, provided
essential guidance, inspiration, and advice throughout the course of
the study. We are grateful also for the input and assistance provided by
other professionals at the NPS Midwest Field Office, including Ellen
Goldkyn, James Hill, Maria McEnaney, Theora McVay Dena Sanford,
and Michelle Watson. Our research would not have been possible
without the cooperation and assistance provided by the Ivan Miller,
Superintendent of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
(SBDNL) in Empire, Michigan. Other members of the SBDNL staff
who provided valuable assistance include North Manitou Island
rangers, especially Dave Hooper. SBDNL Historical Architect Kim
Mann deserves special recognition for assistance with research sources
and logistics, and for her encouragement and tireless enthusiasm for
the project. Laura Quakenbush, of the Leelanau County Museum,
likewise provided valuable research assistance throughout the course
of the study
A number of people helped us develop specific aspects of the
research. Dean Anderson, John Halsey, and Barbara Mead of the
Office of the State Archaeologist, Michigan Historical Center, con-
tributed information and useful insights about prehistoric human
occupation of North Manitou Island and the Sleeping Bear Dunes
region. We are indebted to Ted Karamanski for alerting us to the
existence of the John Newhall Collection of historic North Manitou
Island photographs at the Chicago Maritime Society. Three former
North Manitou Island residents provided valuable information and
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
insights: Paul Maleski, Jr., Giles Merrit, and Rita Hadra Rusco. We are
especially grateful to Rita Hadra Rusco for freely sharing her memo-
ries and personal collection of island photographs, and for her
hospitality during the fieldwork phase of the project. James Walle,
Alan Green, Carol Drew Sanctorum contributed information about
the Hendrick Frederickson, John O. Anderson, and Philip Droy
families, respectively. Lastly, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison,
we are indebted to Ann Kozich of the Institute for Environmental
Studies for expert administrative assistance, to Katie Franks for
assistance with the report graphics, to Deborah Levin for offering
layout advice and PageMaker expertise, and to Kirsten Lombard for
transcribing the North Manitou Island census manusripts.
vi
Table of Contents
Preface iii
Acknowledgements v
Table of Contents vi
List of Illustrations and Tables viii
Chapter 1
Introduction 1
Chapter 2
An Overview of North Manitou Island's Settlement History 7
Chapter 3
Cultivating a Comfortable Wilderness 71
Chapter 4
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites Ill
Chapter 5
National Register of Historic Places Evaluations 247
Chapter 6
Cultural Landscape Management Recommendations 287
Chapter 7
A Paradoxical Wilderness 325
Appendices 347
Bibliography 409
Figure Sources 415
Vll
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
List of Illustrations and Tables
Figures
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Figine 1.1 Location of the Study Aiea in the Upper Midwest 2
Figure 1.2 Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore region 2
Figure 1.3 Major Physical and Cultural Features of NordiManitou Island 5
Figure 2.1 Soil Associations of North Manitou Island 10
Figure 2.2 Canadian and Carolinian Bio tic Provinces 15
Figure 2 . 3 American Indian Sub sistence Strategic s 16
Figure 2.4 American Indian Setdenients, Leelanau Peninsula, ca. 1830 20
Figure 2.5 Euro-American and American Indian setdement areas, ca. 1830 22
Figure 2.6 NordiManitou Island To wnsliip and Section Locations 26
Figure 2.7 Cord-wood clearings and structures on North Manitou Island,
1847 29
Figure 2.8 Unidentified NordiManitou Island farmstead, ca. 1880 33
Figure 2.9 Silas R. Boardman farmhouse, ca. 1920 34
Figure 2.10 Postcard view of boardwalk, North Manitou village 36
Figure 2.11 Hotel, North Manitou Island, ca. 1910s 37
Figure 2.12 Howard W Foote cottage 37
Figure 2.13 Coastal sand dunes, western side of North Manitou Island 39
Figure 2.14 Tide page, Botanical Gazette 27, 1899 41
Figure 2.15 NordiManitou Island forest, eady twentiedi century 42
Figure 2.16 North Manitou Village dock road, ca. 1900 46
Figure 2.17 Mary McMuim Bournique on "Old Sparkie" 47
Figure 2.18 Crescent, North Manitou Island, ca. 1908 48
Figure 2.19 Smith & Hull narrow-gauge railroad, near Crescent 48
Figure 2.20 NordiManitou Islandmen's baseball team, Crescent 49
Figure 2.21 Logs piled near North Manitou Island dock, ca. 1910s 50
Figure 2.22 William R. Angell 51
Figure 2.23 Land Ownership on North Manitou Island, ca. 1925 52
Figure 2.24 Women sorting cherries, NordiManitou Island 54
Figure 2.25 Representatives of the National Industrial Recreation Association
at NordiManitou Island, 1965 59
Figure 2.26 Manitou Island Association logo, 1960s 60
Figure 2.27 Schematic plan of North Manitou Island airport 61
Figure 2.28 Continental Motors Company airplane, ca. 1926 61
Vlll
Figure 2.29 North Maiiitou Island Vegetation Cover 65
Figure 2.30 Abandoned automobile, Stormer lumber camp site 66
Figure 2.31 Trail, North Manitou Island, 1995 67
Figure 2.32 Tamarack Lake, ca. 1910 70
Figure 3.1 North Manitou Island Homestead Entries, 1875-1912 77
Figure 3.2 Unidentified North Manitou Island Farm, ca. 1900 79
Figure 3.3 Frederic Beuham apple orchard, 1913 80
Figure 3.4 Henderick Frederickson farm, ca. 1900 81
Figure 3.5 Apple packing crew, Nordi Manitou Island, ca. 1910s 83
Figure 3.6 Orchard workers, ca. 1910s 84
Figure 3.7 The "big field" near Crescent town site, ca. 1910 86
Figure 3.8 Herman Prause at the Newhall family farm, ca. 1910 87
Figure 3.9 Construction of Manitou Island Association barn, Nordi
Manitou Village, 1927 89
Figure 3.10 Members of die MIA barn construction crew, 1927 89
Figure 3.11 Haystacks at MIA west-side farm 90
Figure 3.12 Cattle at MIA corral near die village dock 91
Figure 3.13 Louis Halsted collecting maple sap for the MIA, ca. 1928 94
Figure 3.14 MIA cherry orchard workers, ca. 1928 96
Figure 3.15 Manitou Island Association store, 1925 97
Figure 3.16 Maple syrup label, ca. 1960s 100
Figure 3.17 Loggers at North Manitou Island, ca. 1910 104
Figure 3.18 Nordi Manitou Village dock, ca. 1930 105
Figure 3.19 John Newhall and "Mr. "Thompson," ca. 1900 107
Figure 4. 1 Sites Associated widi Historic Agricultural Activities on Nordi
Manitou Island 112
Figure 4.2 North Manitou Village, key to detailed site plans 113
Figure 4.3 Farm employees of die Newhall family, ca. 1910 114
Figure 4.4 "The Farmhouse," ca. 1910s 114
Figure 4.5 Construction of Manitou Island Association barn, Nordi
Manitou Village, 1927 115
Figure 4.6 Nordi Manitou Village and Manitou Island Association Farm
Complex 117
Figure 4.7 Nordi Manitou Village, spatial organization, 1997 118
Figure 4.8 Clearing east of North Manitou Village and Manitou Island
Association Farm Complex 119
Figure 4.9 Former Nordi Manitou Village dock road 119
Figure 4.10 Site Plan of the Manitou Island Association Office and
Campbell House 120
Figure 4.11 MIA equipment shed and staging area 121
Manitou Island Association bam and equipment shed (9:25)
Figure 4. 12 Site Plan of the Manitou Island Association Farm Complex,
Nordi Manitou Village 122
Figure 4.13 NPS photovoltaic (PV) array 123
Figure 4.14 Manitou Island Association bam 124
Figure 4. 1 5 All A b am, "lire hall," and thre slung machine 125
Figure 4.16 MIA bam and equipment shed 125
Figure 4.17 Manitou Island Association gas station 126
Figure 4.18 MIA carpenter shop and machine shop 126
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
IX
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
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4.62
4.63
MIA office building 127
Campbell house 128
Belgian draft horses grazing in front of the Campbell house,
ca. 1900 128
Campbell house andNewhall farmhouse, ca. 1900 128
MIA Sawmill 129
Privy near MIA sawmill 129
MIA "Rules and Regulations" 132
Site Plan of die MIA Orchard workers' Cabins 134
Manitou Island Association cherry picker's cabin 135
"Homemade diresliingmacliine," Peter Swanson farm, ca. 1900 137
Cresent "meat market" and "barber shop," ca. 1940 138
Peter and Eleanor Oien family, ca. 1940 139
Site Plan of die Manitou Island Association West-Side Farm 140
Site of the former A. J. White & Son sawmill, Crescent town site 141
"B arber shop," Crescent town site 142
MIA west-side barn, nordiem and western facades 143
MIA west-side b arn, soudiern and eastern 143
MIA west-side barn, ground floor plan 144
MIA west-side barn, milking stanchions 145
Alvar and Mary Bournique residence, ca. 1903 147
Alvar and Mary Bournique, ca. 1928 147
Alvar and Mary Bournique farm, ca. 1910 148
General Site Plan of the Alvar and Alary Bouniique Farm, 1938 149
Bournique residence, landscape setting 150
Blowout near Bournique residence 151
Roadway connecting Bournique residence and farm buildings 151
Site Plan of die Alvar and Mary Bournique Residence Complex 153
Site Plan of the Alvar and Mary Bournique Farm Buildings
C omplex 154
Cottonwood windbreak 155
Bournique large log barn, concrete foundation and water troughs 155
B ournique small log b am ruin 156
Bournique small log barn ruin, wall construction detail 157
Bournique small log bam ruin, notching detail 157
Bournique residence, eastern elevation 158
Sketch plan of the Alvar and Mary Bournique residence 159
Sketch plans of archetypal Gulf Coast Side-gable Creole Houses 161
B ournique residence, soudiern elevation 162
B ournique ice hou se 163
Bournique privies 163
Bournique automobile garage 164
Site Plan of the Mads and Gertrude Nedand / John and Hdri
Anderson Farmstead 168
Mads and Gertrude Nerland / John and fldri Anderson house
ruin 169
Sketch plan of the Mads and Gertrude Nerland house ruin 171
Adam Maleski fishing camp. ca. 1910 173
Mary Maleski at the Maleski "pioneer" house, ca. 1920s 174
Figv
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le 4.64 Paul and Josephine Maleski family, ca. 1920s 175
le 4.65 Paul Maleski and draft horse, "Prince," ca. 1920s 175
re 4.66 Site plan of die Adam and Mary Maleski farmstead 177
re 4.67 Adam and Mary Maleski farm clearing 178
re 4.68 Apple trees, Adam and Mary Maleski farm 179
4.69 Frank Maleski gravesite and pear tree 179
4.70 Paul and Josephine Maleski house ruin 180
4.71 Peter Stormer andlogging sled, ca. 1910s 182
re 4.72 Peter Storrner family, ca. mid-1910s 182
re 4.73 Peter Stormer Farm, ca. 1910s 183
re 4.74 Peter Storrner farm clearing 184
re 4.75 Site plan of die Lars Christian Alstrom Homestead / Peter
Stormer farm 185
re 4.76 Sketch plan of the Lars Christian Alstrom / Peter Stormer house
ruin 187
re 4.77 Lars Christian Alstrom / Peter Stormer house ruin 188
re 4.78 Lars Christian Alstrom / Peter Stormer house, notching detail 188
re 4.79 Nels and Sophia Cadson farm house, ca. 1900 190
re 4.80 Nels and Sophia Carlson farm clearing 191
re 4.81 Nels and Sophia Cadson shed ruin 192
re 4.82 John and Anna Maleski farmstead site 194
re 4.83 Nurserymen J. H. Hale and William Stark at Nordi Manitou
Island, ca. 1900 197
re 4.84 General site plan of the Frederic Beuham orchard 198
re 4.85 Aerial view of the Frederic Beuham orchard 199
re 4.86 Frederic Beuham orchard landscape setting 200
re 4.87 Fruit trees, Frederic Beuham orchard 200
re 4.88 Frederic Beuham orchard, National Park Service radio tower 201
re 4.89 Hen drick Frederickson house and wharf, 1897 202
re 4.90 Cultural vegetation at the Hendrick Frederickson place 203
re 4.91 John L. Johnson farm house 205
re 4.92 "Fat Annie's" place 206
re 4.93 Feilen brodiers making maple syrup on North Manitou Island 210
re4.94 Lumber camp, ca. 1908-1915 212
re 4.95 Stormer logging camp site 213
re 4.96 U.S. government lighthouse at North Manitou Island, ca. 1900 213
re 4.97 U.S. Life-Saving Station and Cottage Row, ca. 1900 214
re 4.98 U.S. Coast Guard Station, North Manitou Island, ca. 1930 215
re 4.99 Site plan of die Nordi Manitou Island Life-Saving Station
complex 217
re 4.100 Hans Halsetii house 218
re 4.101 1854 Volunteer Rescue Station beach cart house, north elevation 218
re 4.102 U.S. Life-Saving Service Dwelling and large lilac shrub 219
re 4.103 Root cellar and Lombardy poplar trees 220
re4.104 Cottage Row boardwalk, ca. 1900 221
re 4.105 Women posed on die front porch of the hotel, ca. 1900 221
re 4.106 Members of the Cottage Row summer resort comniuriity, 1900 122
re 4.107 Cottage Row "Culinary Dept," 1900 223
re 4.108 Second Howard Foote cottage, ca. 1901 223
XI
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Chapter 5
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General Site Plan of Cottage Row 224
Cottage Row, lots 1-5 225
Chester Maleski at Katie Shepard's hotel, ca. 1925 226
Katie Shepard hotel 227
Hewitt cottage, 1904 228
Roderick and Margaret (Rhoades) Peattie treehouse 228
George and Carrie Blossom cottage, "Tanglewood" 229
George and Carrie Blosson cottage miu 230
Frederick H. and Mary Trude cottage, front elevation 231
Floor plan of a Dog-trot House 231
Frederick H. and Mary Trude cottage, rear elevation 232
FrederickH. and Mary Trude water cistern and outbuildings 233
Howard W Foote cottage 234
Cottage Row, lots 6-10 235
Margaret Riggs c ottage 23 6
Margaret Riggs cottage, entrance detail 237
Shirley Foote Alford cottage and migrant orchard workers' cabin 238
Migrant orchard workers' cabin 238
Monte Carlo cottage and Cottage Row hotel, ca. 1900 239
Monte Cado cottage and hotel site plan 240
Monte Carlo cottage 241
John Newhall cottage, ca. 1900 242
Lombardy poplar trees at site of the former Newhall cottage 243
} ohu Newhall cottage, landscape setting 243
J olm Newhall cottage site plan 244
John Newhall cottage, western elevation 245
Nordi Manitou Island's eastern shoreline 252
Maiiitou Island Association map. ca. 1940s 253
Smith & Hull Lumber Co. narrow-gauge railroad spur, ca. 1908 254
Tree stump, northeastern North Manitou Island 254
Large log barn on Nortii Manitou Island, location and date
unknown 255
Manitou Island Association deer blind 256
Agriculural clearing at the former MIA west-side farm 257
Aerial view of North Manitou Village 259
U.S. Life-Saving Service complex viewed from the village dock
road 260
Nortii Manitou Village dock and wharf, ca. 1900 261
Map of Nortii Manitou Village showing historic district
boundaries 262
Aerial photograph of North Manitou Village, 1938 263
Manitou Island Association sawmill 265
Manitou Island Association barn 266
North Manitou Island U.S. Life-saving Service complex and
NPS road 268
U.S. Life-saving Service complex site plan 269
Woman washing clotiies, ca. 1900 270
Passenger ship Puritan at North Manitou Island 271
Summer resorters at Cottage Row boardwalk, ca. 1900 271
Xll
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Frederick H. and Mary Trude cottage 272
Boundaries of proposed Cottage Row Historic District 273
Relict apple orchard at Alstrom/Stormer farm site 275
Rows of apple trees, Frederic Beuham orchard 278
Alvar and Alary Bournique residence and ice house 279
Beach and dunes along the western shoreline of North Alanitou
Island 282
Tent at John and Anna Maleski homestead clearing 308
Alanitou Island Association sign, ca. mid-1980s 309
} olm N e whall c o tt age , c a . 1910 311
J ohn Newhall cottage interior 311
Lomhardy poplar grove near MIA sawmill 316
Alads and Gertrude Nerland / John and Ildri Anderson house
ruin 322
Alanitou Island Association placemat, ca. 1950 329
Alanitou Island Association brochure, ca. 1960s 330
Paul and Josephine Alaleski house ruin, window detail 335
Woman posing near a ruined log structure, North Alanitou
Island, ca. 1900 337
Paul and J osephine Alaleski house ruin, porch detail 338
Katie Shepard hotel dinning room 340
Eastern shore of Lake Alanitou 341
Boathouse, Lake Alanitou, ca. 1910 341
Dock and wharf, North Alanitou Village, ca. 1910s 342
Former logging road 342
Postcard image of a painting of Lake Alanitou, ca. 1900 344
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Table 4. 1 Crops produced by Nicholas Feilen on his North Alanitou
Island Homestead, 1904-1908 209
Table B-l Possible American Indian uses of native plant species found on
Nordi Alanitou Island 356
Table C-l Culturally significant non-native plant species on Nortii Alanitou
Island 362
Table D-l Federal census of population, North Alanitou Island, 1860 365
Table D-2 Federal census of population, North Alanitou Island, 1870 373
Table D-3 Federal census of population, Nordi Alanitou Island, 1880 376
Table D-4 Federal census of population, North Alanitou Island, 1900 379
Table D-5 Federal census of population, North Alanitou Island, 1910 381
Table D-6 Federal census of population, North Alanitou Island, 1920 387
Table E-l Federal census of agriculture, North Alanitou Island, 1860 391
Table E-2 Federal census of agriculture, North Alanitou Island, 1870 392
Table F-l State of Alicliigaii, census of agriculture, Nordi and South
Alanitou Islands, 1894 396
Tables
Chapter 4
Appendix B
Appendix C
Appendix D
Appendix E
Appendix F
Xlll
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Table G- 1 Farmstead characteristics of North Manitou Island's homestead
Appendix G claimants 398
Table H-l Mairitou Island Association income direcdy attributable to sales
Appendix H of commodities and services, 1925-1929 401
Table H-2 Marritou Island Association annual expenditures for labor,
1925-1929 401
Table H-3 Manitou Island Association monthly expenditures for labor,
1925-1929 402
Table H-4 Persons hsted in the Manitou Island Association's montiily
payrolls, 1925-1929 403
Table H-5 Manitou Island Association cherry harvest crews, 1927-1929 406
XIV
Introduction
Chapter One
Introduction
In 1984 the National Park Service acquired North Manitou
Island as part of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in north-
western lower Michigan (figures 1.1 and 1.2). North Manitou is the
second-largest island in a fourteen-island archipelago in northeastern
Lake Michigan. It lies approximately eleven miles off-shore from the
coastal town of Leland, the closest mainland harbor. 1 Approximately
five miles wide at its greatest breadth, and seven miles long, the
island's land area encompasses just under 15,000 acres. It is a land-
scape of rolling hills, steep bluffs and sand dunes, two inland lakes,
fragile wetland habitats, and thousands of acres of deciduous forests
of maple, beech, white birch, and black cherry. Situated within this
spectacular natural setting are striking and enigmatic traces of human
habitation. Vestiges of human history on North Manitou Island
include abandoned townsites, remnant logging camps, empty summer
cottages, relict fruit orchards, and deserted farmsteads — exemplars of
a geographical concept termed the cultural landscape.
A cultural landscape embodies the ways in which a group of
persons or a community has altered, utilized, and maintained the
natural and cultural resources in a given area. In the broadest sense, a
cultural landscape reflects human adaptation and use of natural
resources through the ways in which land is organized and divided,
patterns of settlement and land use, the manipulation of ecosystems,
systems of movement and transport, and architectural construction.
Humans modify environments in response to economic, aesthetic,
spiritual, associative or mnemonic, and many other motivations. Thus,
landscapes also are a medium for expressing a diverse matrix of
cultural values. The tangible character of a cultural landscape is
; R. H. Ruchhoft, Exploring North
Manitou, South Manitou, High and Garden
Islands of the Lake Michigan Archipelago
(Cincinnati: Pucelle Press, 1991), 161.
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 1.1. Location of Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore in the upper Midwest.
Figure 1.2. Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Region.
2 Carl Ortwin Sauer, "The Morphol-
ogy of Landscape," in Land and Life:
A Selection from the Writings of Carl
Ortwin Sauer, ed. John Leighly (Berke-
ley, CA: University of California Press,
1963), 343; Sauer's essay originally "was
published in 1925.
defined both by physical attributes — landforms, roads, vegetation,
buildings — and by on-going natural processes and human activities,
which reflect cultural values and traditions. Indeed, continuity of
land uses and associative values by a cultural group may be as impor-
tant as any physical or aesthetic attributes of the landscape. Likewise,
the continuity of non-human, natural processes serves a crucial
function in maintaining the functional and aesthetic integrity of a
cultural landscape.
Our understanding of cultural landscapes has evolved from
the work of geographers and historians who have probed the rela-
tionships between human culture and nature in shaping the built
environment. The concept was concisely defined more than seventy
years ago by geographer Carl Ortwin Sauer: "The cultural landscape
is fashioned from a natural landscape by a culture group. Culture is
the agent," he noted, "the natural area is the medium, the cultural
landscape the result." 2 Only within the last two or three decades,
however, has the scholarship pioneered by Sauer served as a basis
for preserving and interpreting historically significant cultural
landscapes. In the United States, the cultural landscape preservation
movement has been led by the National Park Service (NPS), the
agency which manages many of the nation's most important cultural
landscapes, and administers most of the federal government's
historic preservation programs.
The NPS Approach to Cultural Landscapes
As stated by Sauer, the definition of a cultural landscape is indeed
very broad, in effect encompassing most of the world's land area,
Introduction
Historic Cultural Landscapes:
National Park Service Definitions
Cultural Landscape- a geographic area, including both cultural and natural resources and the wildlife
or domestic animals therein, associated with a historic event, activity, or person or exhibiting other
cultural or aesthetic values. f
historic Designed Landscape - a landscape that was consciously designed or laid out by a landscape
architect master gardener, architect, or horticulturist according to design principles, or an amateur
gardener working in a recognized style or tradition. The landscape may be associated with a significant
person(s), trend, or event in landscape architecture; or illustrate an important development in the theory
and practice of landscape architecture. Aesthetic values play a significant role in designed landscapes.
Examples include parks, campuses, and estates.
historic Vernacular Landscape- a landscape that evolved through use by the people whose activities
or occupancy shaped that landscape. Through social or cultural attitudes of an individual, family or a
community, the landscape reflects the physical, biological, and cultural character of those everyday
lives. Function plays a significant role in vernacular landscapes. They can be a single property such as a
farm or a collection of properties such as a district of historic farms along a river valley. Examples
include rural villages, industrial complexes, and agricultural landscapes.
historic Site- a landscape significant for Its association with a historic event, activity, or person.
Examples include battlefields and president's house properties.
Ethnographic Landscape- a landscape containing a variety of natural and cultural resources that
associated people define as heritage resources. Examples are contemporary settlements, religious
sacred sites and massive geological structures. Small plant communities, animals, subsistence and
ceremonial grounds are often components.
Source: Charles A Bimbaum, Preservation Briefs 36: Protecting Cultural Landscapes-Planning, Treatment and
Management of Historic Landscapes (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 1994),
pp. 1-2.
since very few present-day places, if any, have not been impacted in
some way by human activities. However, the extent of human influ-
ence on landscapes varies appreciably through both space and time,
and not all cultural landscapes can be considered historically impor-
tant. In evaluating the historical significance of cultural landscapes,
the NPS and most other public and private preservation authorities in
the United States utilize the criteria of the National Register of
Historic Places. In general, a historic landscape, or its principal
component features, must be fifty years old or older. The landscape
must possess historical integrity and significance through association
with an important event, person, or design style or type of construc-
tion, or it must retain the potential to yield important information
about the past. 3 Historic landscapes, i.e., those that meet National
Register criteria, thus represent only a small fraction of the broad
spectrum of cultural landscapes considered by geographers.
7 Cultural landscape definitions are
contained in Department of the
Interior, National Park Service, NPS-
28, Cultural Resource Management
Guideline, Release No. 4, (Washington,
D.C.: U.S. Department of the Interior,
National Park Service, 1994).
J Department of the Interior, National
Park Service, National Register Bulletin
1 6 A: How to Complete the "National
Register Registration Form (Washington,
DC: U.S. Department of the Interior,
National Park Service, 1991); For a
more detailed discussion of the
national register inventory and
evaluation process, see Chapter Five
of this report.
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
4 Charles A. Birnbaum, Preservation
Briefs 36: Protecting Cultural Landscapes —
Planning, Treatment and Management of
Historic Landscapes (Washington, D.C.:
U.S. Department of the Interior,
National Park Service, 1994), 1-2.
5 Susan Olson Haswell and Arnold R.
Alanen, A Garden Apart: An Agricul-
tural and Settlement History of Michigan's
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
Region (Omaha: Midwest Regional
Office, National Park Service; Lansing:
State Historic Preservation Office,
Michigan Bureau of History, 1994);
Maria J. McEnaney, William H. Tishler,
and Arnold R. Alanen, Farming at the
Water's Edge: An Assessment of Agricul-
tural and Cultural Landscape Resources in
the Proposed Port Oneida Rural Historic
District at Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore, Michigan (Omaha: Midwest
Regional Office, National Park
Service, 1995); Brenda Wheeler
Williams, Arnold R. Alanen, and
William H. Tishler, 'Coming through with
Rye ': An Historic Agricultural Landscape
Study of South Manitou Island at Sleeping
Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Michigan
(Omaha: Midwest Field Area,
National Park Service, 1996).
6 For a detailed description of the
sources and research methodology
utilized for this project, see Appendix
A.
The National Park Service has defined four different types
of historic landscapes: (1) historic designed landscapes; (2) historic
vernacular landscapes; (3) historic sites; and (4) ethnographic land-
scapes (see above). Historic designed landscapes are deliberate, artistic
creations reflecting recognized design styles. Historic vernacular
landscapes, however, typically are unself-conscious creations that
reflect the habits and lifeways of ordinary people. They express a
cultural group's values and attitudes toward the land, and reflect
patterns of settlement and land use over time. Historic sites are
landscapes that are significant primarily for their associations with
important events, activities, or persons, rather than their intrinsic form
or design. Historic sites often function as museum settings for the
interpretation of specific events or persons. In contrast, ethnographic
landscapes are characterized by a continuity of use by ethnic groups
for subsistence hunting and gathering, religious or sacred ceremonies,
and other traditional activities. 4 Although somewhat distinct, these
four landscape types are not mutually exclusive — many cultural
landscapes simultaneously represent two or more of these types.
Interpretations of Cultural Landscapes on North
Manitou Island
Although primarily vernacular in character, the cultural landscapes of
North Manitou Island are remarkably diverse, and encompass mul-
tiple layers of cultural meaning and historical value (figure 1.3).
Integrated among these various layers of history, and expressed
indelibly in the land, is the story of agriculture. This report is the
fourth in a series of studies of historic agriculture and agricultural
landscapes prepared for the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
and its region. The first, A Garden Apart (1992), provided an historical
context for agriculture in the larger lakeshore region of Leelanau and
Benzie counties. Two subsequent studies, Farming at the Waters Edge
(1994) and 'Coming through with Rye' (1996), examined historic agricul-
tural resources at Port Oneida on the mainland, and on South
Manitou Island, respectively 5
This report, Tending a Comfortable Wilderness, is primarily an
account of agricultural history and historic agricultural landscapes on
North Manitou Island. Derived from a variety of documentary
sources, the report also considers the ways in which agriculture
historically was related to other human activities and landscapes on
the island, and explores past interpretations of the island's natural
and human history 6 The extent to which interpretive traditions
shape popular attitudes, land management policies, and, ultimately,
the cultural landscape, is seldom acknowledged. Nowhere is this
tendency more apparent than in the story of North Manitou Island.
Portrayal of North Manitou Island's human history has been
impelled by two popular myths. The first portrays the island is a place
where "nothing happened" — or, stated less polemically, the island is
represented as a place where human history is of little consequence or
Introduction
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Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
significance. The island essentially is conceived as a landscape without
a history. Closely tied to this ahistorical view is a long-standing
tradition of representing the landscape as an untouched "island
wilderness." Although it is often acknowledged that past human
activities did affect the landscape to some extent, the consequences of
human habitation are often perceived to have been minimal and
inconsequential — although something may have happened on the
island, it was of little importance, and should not concern us today.
Human history in such a landscape doesn't matter.
The second myth alleges that North Manitou Island's human
history essentially mirrors that of its sister island, South Manitou.
According to this supposition, the island's human history is mundane
rather than unique, differing in only trivial ways from that of neigh-
boring South Manitou Island. This report will argue that both of
these interpretive traditions are delusive. Furthermore, this report will
explore the consequences of these views for the island's cultural
landscapes, National Park Service resource management philosophy
and, ultimately, visitors' impressions of the island. In so doing, we
hope this report will make a case for why history does indeed matter
in places like North Manitou Island.
Beyond merely documenting North Manitou Island's historic
agricultural landscapes, Tending a 'Comfortable Wilderness' aims to probe
the ways in which past interpretations of the island's resources have
informed NPS management strategies, particularly the proposed
designation of all but 27 acres of the island as a potential wilderness
unit. The North Manitou landscape encompasses impressive perched
dunes, thousands of acres of dense, maple-beech deciduous forest,
and endangered wildlife habitats, as well as a diverse array of vernacu-
lar buildings and cultural landscapes. Such physical features, in addi-
tion to the island's rich human history, have shaped management
options for both cultural and natural resources. The role of history in
the formulation of management decisions, however, has been largely
unacknowledged, with unintended, if not unfortunate, consequences.
Consciously acknowledging the island's environmental history, as this
report strives to suggest, may illuminate the connections between
natural and cultural systems, and articulate the importance of such
connections to the study and management of historic architecture and
landscapes. It is the making of such connections, this report suggests,
that enriches visitors' experiences of landscapes like North Manitou
Island. Tending a Comfortable Wilderness, then, is not just about the
history of a small island in a large lake. It is that. But more impor-
tantly it is about a way of looking at the world.
Chapter Two
An Overview of
North Manitou
Island's Settlement
History
Viewed during mid-summer from the crest of a golden, northern
Michigan dune, North Manitou Island appears as a thin, flat band of
dark olive floating amidst the silvery blue waters of Lake Michigan,
precariously grazing the boundary between water and sky. Moving
closer, the distant verge becomes a bouyant landscape of ridges and
valleys clothed in verdant greens, shadowy blues and purples, all lined
with a tawny edge. Half a million years ago this land was frozen and
hard, silent beneath a vast sheet of ice and rock several thousand feet
thick. Each year snow fell on the continental glacier, increasing its
height and further compressing the layers of ice below. Over many
hundreds of years the edge of the ice sheet moved forward, and then
retreated in response to climatic changes. During periods of relative
warmth, some of which lasted several thousand years, the huge ice
sheets vanished from the region, leaving the landscape awash in melt
water. Plant and animal life returned to the land, reclaiming it until
another plunge in global temperatures brought about the return of
glacial ice.
Geologists refer to these cyclical "ice ages" as the Pleis-
tocene Epoch, a chapter in geologic history that began approxi-
mately 500,000 to 2 million years ago. The most recent phase of the
Pleistocene, termed the "Wisconsin stage," persisted in Michigan
until about 10,000 to 12,000 years ago. During the Wisconsin stage,
a vast glacial ice mass moved southward across the region, its front
defined by an irregular edge of lobes, which flowed at a faster pace
through pre-existing valleys and depressions. As the last great ice
mass retreated, it left behind a highly irregular and variable terrain.
In "conveyor-belt" fashion, piles of debris accumulated at the base
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
1 John A. Dorr, Jr., and Donald F.
Eschman, Geology of Michigan (Ann
Arbor: University of Michigan Press,
1970), 140-163.
2 Dorr and Eschman, Geology of
Michigan, 164-179; Susan Olson
Haswell and Arnold R. Alanen, A
Garden Apart: An Agricultural and
Settlement History of Michigan's Sleeping
Hear Dunes "National Lakeshore Region
(Omaha: Midwest Regional Office,
National Park Service; Lansing: State
Historic Preservation Office, Michigan
Bureau of History, 1994), 5-8; Brian T.
Hazlett, "The Flora of Sleeping Bear
Dunes National Lakeshore, Benzie and
Leelanau Counties, Michigan," Michigan
Botanist 30 (4): 142 (1991).
of the glacier during the extended periods when the front edge of
the ice was stationary. The resulting ridges, called moraines, roughly
outlined the front edge of the ice sheet during one stage of its final
retreat. The retreat process, however, produced many other distinc-
tive topological features: dmmlins, streamlined hills molded by
overriding ice, and eskers, kames, and ice-channel deposits, which are
narrow, elongated deposits laid down by melt water flowing through
channels or tunnels that were confined by ice. As the glacier melted,
much of the surrounding landscape was inundated with water,
creating expansive outwash plains in areas where water pooled or
flowed for extended periods of time. Isolated blocks of ice formed
earthen depressions called kettle holes, which later filled with melt
water and became lakes, ponds, and bogs. 1
Much of the landscape of the Great Lakes region, including
that of the Manitou islands and the Sleeping Bear Dunes area, was
created by glaciers during the end of the Pleistocene Epoch. During
their last retreat, glaciers filled ancient versions of the Great Lakes
with melted icewater. Since that time, the water level of the Great
Lakes has fluctuated considerably according to the position of the
retreating ice front, the volume of meltwater during various periods,
and the location of drainage ways or outlets. The present average
water level of Lake Michigan is about 578 feet. During the postglacial
period, which began in northern Michigan about 9,500 years ago, the
highest lake level, 605 feet above sea level, occurred during the Lake
Nipissing stage (5000 BP). This stage was preceded by the Lake
Chippewa stage (9,500 to 4,500 years ago), when water levels were at
their lowest, roughly 230 feet above sea level. During the low-water
Lake Chippewa period the Manitou islands were joined with the
mainland. Later, during the high-water Nippising stage, wave action
sculpted the shoreline of the Great Lakes, particularly along the
eastern and northern shore of Lake Michigan. The islands were
entirely submerged during the Lake Nippising stage. The higher lake
levels left behind areas of relict sandy lake bed and beach ridges. 2
Like most of the Great Lakes region, the topography of the
Sleeping Bear Dunes area bears the imprint of successive glacial
epochs during the Pleistocene. It is a landscape of relatively low relief
that is characterized by both active and ancient dunes, moraines and
other glacial landforms, and small lakes and streams. North Manitou
Island — one of the national lakeshore's most noteworthy features — is
a glacial moraine and outwash plain. The topography of the eastern
and central portions of the island consists of gently rolling hills and
valleys. Steeper hills and sand bluffs are located in the northwestern
and southern portions of the island. A long, serpentine esker extends
across the south-central portion of the island, the topographical
remnant of a river of meltwater and glacial debris that once flowed
beneath the surface of a long-vanished glacier. Ancient beach ridges
stretch along the island's eastern shoreline, shaped long ago during
periods when lake water levels were higher. Two inland water bodies,
North Manitou Island's Settlement History
Tamarack Lake and Lake Manitou, are depressions formed by huge
blocks of glacial ice. The areas around these lakes constitutes the
major wetland habitats of the island.
Reflecting the landscape's geologic history, North Manitou's
soils generally are well-drained loamy sands, sandy loams, and sands
(see below; figure 2.1). The soils on the island's lake terraces and beach
ridges are moderately well- to well-drained. The southwestern and
southeastern portions of the island shoreline are composed of active
dunes, where stiff winds carve blowouts and cut narrow channels
uphill into the vegetation. The dune shorelines have a surface layer of
continually shifting sand; soils near the lakeshore do not retain water,
fertility, or organic matter. Along the island's northwestern shore, tall
perched dunes create an imposing, vertical facade of gravel and wind-
blown sand. 3 The glaciated landscape of the island provides settings
for a broad range of plant and animal habitats, although sharp-edged
environmental gradients generally are absent. The island's wetland
habitats — Tamarack Lake and Lake Manitou, as well as a few scattered
natural springs where small areas of poorly-drained muck soils are
found — support several plant species found nowhere else on the
Manitou islands. 4
Postglacial Environment and Prehistoric Human
Habitation
Following the retreat of the last glacial ice front, a diverse matrix of
plant and animal habitats covered the land surface, evolving in re-
J Herman L. Weber, Soil Survey, 2-5;
Brian T. Hazlett and Robert J. Vande
Kopple, The Terrestrial Vegetation and
Flora of North and South Manitou Islands,
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore,
Leelanau County, Michigan (Douglas
Lake, Mich.: University of Michigan
Biological Station, 1983), 29-30. For a
detailed discussion of the geological
history and the current climatic
context of the Sleeping Bear Dunes
region, see Haswell and Alanen, Garden
Apart, 5-17.
4 Herman L. Weber, Soil Survey of
Leelanau County, Michigan (Washington,
D C: U.S.D.A. Soil Conservation
Service, in cooperation "with the
Michigan Agricultural Experiment
Station, 1973); Hazlett and Vande
Kopple, Terrestrial Vegetation, 30, 41, 54-
58.
Soil Associations of North Manitou Island
Soil scientists have grouped the soils of North Manitou Island into four soil associations. The Deer Park -
Dune Land Association occurs on active dunes along Lake M ichigan. It has a surface layer of
continually shifting sand, and may include scattered patches of loamy sand, sandy loam and finer
textured till. Having low or very low available water capacity, fertility, and organic matter content, none of
these soils is suited to farming. The East Lake ■ Eastport- Lupton Association, found on lake terraces
and beach ridges adjacent to lakes, is moderately well to well-drained. Eastlake has a surface layer of a
very dark grayish-brown loamy sand and a loamy sand subsoil. Eastport consists of black sand over
grayish brown sand and a subsoil of sand. Lupton is a nearly level organic soil, poorly drained. It is found
in low areas. Orchards are well-suited to the well-drained soils of this association. Cultivated and forage
crops are moderately well-suited to the well-drained soils. The Emmet- Leelanau Association is hilly
and divided by many deep, narrow valleys. Emmet is dark grayish-brown sandy loam over sandy loam,
loamy sand, sandy clay loam. Leelanau is dark gray or brown loamy sand over loamy sand. Cherries,
apples, peaches and plums are well-suited to these soils. Pasture and other crops grow moderately well.
The fourth association, Kalkaska ■ Mancelona has moderate to severe limitations for crops and
orchards. Fertility and available water capacity are low. The soils are sand or sandy loam over loamy
sand over gravelly sandy loam.
Source: Herrran L.Weber, Soil Survey of Leelanau County, Michigan (Washington, D. C: U.S.D.A. Soil Conservation Service, in cooperation
with the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station, 1973).
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
SOIL ASSOCIATIONS KEY
1 . Deer Park - Dune Land association
Well-drained, strongly sloping to very steep,
soils on dunes.
2. East Lake - Eastport - Lupton association
Well-drained and moderately well-drained, nearly level to gently
sloping, sandy soils, and very poorly drained, nearly level mucky
soils; on lake terraces and beach ridges.
3. Kalkaska - Mancelona association Well-drained, nearly level to
strongly sloping, sandy soils on mountwash plains.
4. Emmet - Omena association Well-drained, nearly level to very
loamy soils on moraines.
SOURCE: Derived from Herman L. Weber, Soil Survey of Leelanau County, Michigan (Washington, D.C.:
U.S.D.A. Soil Conservation Service; Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station, 1973).
North
•
Soil Associations of North Manitou Island
FIGURE 2.1
I — — i —
1/2
1
1
mile
Drawing by Eric MacDonald and Katie Franks
10
North Manitou Island's Settlement History
sponse to changes in climate, hydrology, and animal -plant interac-
tions. Immediately after the retreat of glacial ice, approximately
12,000 years ago, the landscape of the upper Great Lakes region
occupied an ecological transition zone, or "ecotone," between
tundra ecosystems that bordered the ice front, and boreal forests
which predominated to the south. For several hundred years a
patchy mosaic of tundra and boreal woodland ecosystems provided
favorable environments for many species of large herbivores that
preferred open, well-drained habitats. These included mammoth,
mastodon, barren-ground caribou, and musk ox. As the region's
climate gradually warmed, tundra vegetation gave way to very dense
boreal forests. 5
Archaeologists and anthropologists have partitioned the
prehistory of the Great Lakes region into four broad "periods" of
cultural evolution, each of which denotes a distinctive matrix of
technological, subsistence, lifeway strategies. Each period or phase
generally corresponds with a discrete span of time (see p. 6). Such
chronologies tend to obscure the fact that differences among various
periods are merely conceptual, that cultural change may occur
gradually or radically, and that certain characteristics of one period
may coexist simultaneously and/or propinquitously with characteris-
tics that are typical of preceding or subsequent phases. Nonetheless,
as a heuristic device, such chronologies are a useful way of dividing
the continuum of human cultural development into comprehensible
aspects.
The earliest archaeological evidence of prehistoric human
habitation in the Sleeping Bear Dunes region is believed to date from
the Late Archaic period, 3000 BC to 600 BC. 6 It is likely, however,
that prehistoric peoples hunted in the region much earlier. Prehistoric
humans may have entered the New World as early as 30,000 years ago,
although mass migrations of humans probably did not occur until
16,000 years later. Paleo-Indian cultures (12000 BC - 9000 BC)
probably did not enter the Great lakes region until 10000 BC. Along
the edges of the retreating glaciers, Paleo-Indian peoples encountered
a resource-rich tundra environment — an ecosystem that was more
biologically diverse than modern tundra ecosystems. Retreating
glaciers left behind habitats that apparently were favored by large
grazing herbivores, such as mammoths, mastodons, bison, musk-ox,
and caribou, and the groups of humans who hunted them. The
hunting economy of Paleo-Indian peoples was supported by an
abundance of large game species. Barren ground caribou may have
been particularly important. 7
By 8000 BC, much of the tundra and open boreal forest
mosaic of the upper Great Lakes region had been replaced by large
expanses of very dense spruce-fir boreal forests. The disappearance of
open habitats within the region probably contributed to the decline
and eventual extinction of large grazing herbivores. Anthropologists
speculate that diminishing populations of large herbivores, brought
5 James E. Fitting, The Archaeology of
Michigan: A Guide to the Prehistory of the
Great Takes Region, 2nd rev. ed.
(Bloomfield Hills, Mich.: Cranbrook
Institute of Science, 1975), 35-36;
William A. Lovis, Robert Mainfort,
and Vergil E. Noble, "An Archaeo-
logical Inventory and Evaluation of
the Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore, Leelanau and Benzie
Counties, Michigan" (Lincoln, Nebr.:
National Park Service, 1976), 28; Charles
Edward Cleland, "The Prehistoric
Animal Ecology and Ethnozoology of
the Upper Great Lakes Region,"
Anthropological Papers 29 (Museum of
Anthropology, University of Michigan,
Ann Arbor, 1966), 91.
6 Haswell and Alanen, Garden Apart, 19.
7 Fitting, Archeology of Michigan, 36;
Lovis, Mainfort, and Noble, "Archaeo-
logical Inventory and Evaluation," 28;
Charles E. Cleland, Rites of Conquest:
The History and Culture of Michigan 's
Native Americans (Ann Arbor: Univer-
sity of Michigan Press, 1992), 13-14.
11
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Periods of Prehistoric Cultural Development in Michigan
Archaeologists and anthropologists have divided the continuum of prehistoric cultural development
into four broad phases. Each phase is marked by differences in the types, materials, form, decoration,
spatial distribution, and stratum of artifacts, which suggest that the technological, social, and
ideological elements of each period are more or less distinct. Although many diverse cultural groups
certainly existed within each phase, all shared certain common technologies, subsistence patterns, and
environmental adaptations.
Paleo-lndian
Archaic
Early Archaic
Middle Archaic
LateArchaic
Woodland
Early Woodland
Middle Woodland
Late Woodland
Historic Contact
11000+ BC to 8000 BC
8000 BC- 600 BC
8000 BC to 6000 BC
6000 BC to 3000 BC
3000 BC to 1000/600 BC
1000/600 BC- AD 1620
600BCto300BC
300 BC to AD 500/600
AD 500/600 to AD 1620
AD 1620 to AD 1830
Sources : J arresE. Fitting, The Archaeology of Michigan: AGuide to the Prehistory of the Great Lakes Region, 2nd rev. ed. (Bloomfield Hills,
Mich.: Cranbrook Institute of Science, 1975); Ronald J . Mason, Great Lakes Archaeology (New York: Academic Press, 1981); Charles E.
Cleland, Rites of Conquest The History and Culture of Michigan's Native Americans (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1992), 13.
s Cleland, Rites of Conquest, 15; Cleland,
"Prehistoric Animal Ecology," 92.
9 Lovis, Mainfort, and Noble, "Archaeo-
logical Inventory and Evaluation," 28;
Cleland, "Prehistoric Animal Ecology,"
92.
about by a warmer climate and changing floral resources, gradually
rendered the specialized hunting strategy of Paleo-lndian peoples less
effective. As mixed deciduous and coniferous forests increased their
range within the region, human populations responded by adopting a
formalized pattern of seasonal activities and increasingly utilized
plants as sources of food. These two important changes mark the
beginning of the Archaic period ((8000 BC - 1000 BC), which
archaeologist Charles Cleland has described as "a long and poorly
known cultural sequence that is perhaps best understood as a
reflection of changes in lifeway necessary to accommodate emerging
modern landscape and climate." 8
Although material evidence is scant in the upper Great
Lakes region, it appears as though the economy of Early Archaic
cultures (8000 BC - 6000 BC) focused on forest game, such as
woodland caribou, moose, hare, and beaver. Fishing may have been
practiced during summer months, but hunting remained the primary
subsistence activity, augmented somewhat by wild plant foods. Such
a strategy probably sustained relatively small numbers of people,
especially in the northern portions of the region where dense conif-
erous forests supported fewer game species. 9
12
North Manitou Island's Settlement History
By 6000 BC, much of the region's boreal forest vegetation
had given way to a mixture of deciduous and coniferous forests.
Approximately 7,000 years ago, during a period of several hundred
years called the "antithermal climatic episode" (6000 BC - 3000
BC), the climate of the Great Lakes region was somewhat warmer
and drier than it is today. Deciduous forests spanned across nearly
all of the region, except for the most northern areas, where dense
coniferous forests remained. The populations of contemporary
woodland animal species, such as whitetail deer, increased as
deciduous forest habitats expanded. Deciduous forests reached their
northernmost limit during the peak of the Antithermal episode. 10
Middle Archaic cultures (6000 - 3000 BC) inhabited the area
during the antithermal climatic episode, when deciduous forests
displaced coniferous forests in all but the northernmost portions of
the region. The appearance of ground stone technology during this
period marks the first evidence of "divergent adaptive patterns within
the region." 11 Stone tools such as mortars, pestles, and axes were used
by Archaic peoples to process seeds, wood, and other plant fibers. The
emergence of this technology is considered to be an indication of
increasing reliance on plant resources, especially among southern
Middle Archaic cultures. In the north, Middle Archaic cultures
adopted a more diffuse economy based on hunting both small and
large game, and greater utilization of plant resources. The most
important game animal during this time probably was whitetailed
deer. 12 Material evidence of Early and Middle Archaic people is scant
in northern Michigan, presumably because extreme fluctuations in the
water levels of the Lake Chippewa stage (approximately 9,500 to 4,500
years ago) either eroded or buried shoreline habitation sites. 13
Following the height of the antithermal climatic episode, the
climate of the region cooled slightly, and by 3000 BC the distribution
of vegetation had evolved toward a mixture of deciduous and conif-
erous forests — a pattern similar to that which characterizes the area
today 14 During the Late Archaic period (3000 BC - 1000 BC), which
roughly coincides with the end of the antithermal climatic episode,
significant differences persisted between the environmental and biotic
characteristics of the northern and southern portions of the region.
In the north, where dense, northern conifer-dominated forests were
prevalent, smaller groups of people followed a subsistence strategy
focused more heavily on hunting and fishing. In the deciduous forests
of the south, a larger human population was supported by a diffuse
economy based on winter deer hunting, spring and summer fishing,
and the collection of wild plant foods. 15 The subsistence strategies
of Late Archaic peoples further evolved into an economy based on
extensive trade networks that ranged from the Gulf of Mexico to
Lake Superior.
During the Late Archaic period the climate and vegetation
of the Sleeping Bear Dunes region appears to have been favorable
for human habitation. In addition to hunting and fishing, the
10 Cleland, "Prehistoric Animal Ecol-
ogy," 92-93.
11 Ibid.
12 Cleland, "Prehistoric Animal Ecol-
ogy," 92-93; Lovis, Mainfort, and
Noble, "Archaeological Inventory and
Evaluation," 28; Cleland, Rites of
Conquest, 17.
13 Gilbert/Commonwealth Inc. of
Michigan, "Cultural Resource Assess-
ment of Proposed Rehabilitation of
the Platte River Campground and
Limited Testing at Site 20BZ16, Benzie
County, Michigan" (National Park
Service, 1986), 21.
14 Cleland, "Prehistoric Animal
Ecology," 92-93; Cleland, Rites of
Conquest, 15.
15 Cleland, "Prehistoric Animal
Ecology," 93; Lovis, Mainfort, and
Noble, "Archaeological Inventory and
Evaluation of the Sleeping Bear Dunes
National Lakeshore," 29. Although the
climate of the Great Lakes region
progressively cooled during the Late
Archaic period, it remained somewhat
"warmer than it is now
13
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
16 Haswell and Alanen, Garden Apart, 19.
Richard Asa Yarnell, "Aboriginal
Relationships between Culture and
Plant Life in the Upper Great Lakes
Region," Anthropological Papers 23
(Aluseum of Anthropology, University
of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1964), 142.
18 Lovis, Mainfort, and Noble,
"Archaeological Inventory and
Evaluation," 93.
Lovis, Mainfort, and Noble,
"Archaeological Inventory and
Evaluation," 29; Gilbert/ Common-
wealth, "Cultural Resource Assess-
ment of Proposed Rehabilitation of
the Platte River Campground," 22.
20 Cleland, Rites of Conquest, 1 9.
21 Lovis, Mainfort, and Noble,
"Archaeological Inventory and
Evaluation of the Sleeping Bear Dunes
National Lakeshore," 29-30; Fitting,
Archaeology of Michigan, 98.
22 Cleland, "Prehistoric Animal
Ecology," 93-95.
lakeshore's Late Archaic inhabitants probably gathered wood for
fuel and tools, plant fibers for cordage, and nuts, berries, and seeds
for food. The Dunn Farm Site, a Late Archaic burial discovered in
1973 near Glen Lake, contained several charred grains of wild rice
{Zi^ania acquaticd), suggesting that the human groups that inhabited
the Sleeping Bear Dunes region during this time may have sought
out this economically important plant. 16 Wild plant foods recovered
from a Late Archaic site in Saginaw County, Michigan, include
acorn, walnut, butternut, hickory nut, and grape seed. Although
other plant foods such as tubers, tree sap, fruits with small or
delicate seeds, and greens, most likely were utilized by Late Archaic
people, they are seldom recovered archaeologically 17
Archaeological evidence recovered thus far within the
Sleeping Bear Dunes area suggests that human utilization of the
region's resources during the Late Archaic period was followed by
an "apparent occupational hiatus." It is unclear whether the paucity
of archaeological evidence indicates a general decline in the region's
human population or the persistence of Late Archaic technologies
during a time when Early and Middle Woodland cultures predomi-
nated throughout other, more southerly, portions of the upper Great
Lakes. 18 The emergence of Woodland cultures is generally marked by
two important changes: ceramics manufacture, and plant domestica-
tion. 19 These technological developments eventually became "the
foundation of an agricultural lifeway" 20 Toward the close of the
Early Woodland period (1000/600 BC - 300 BC), Michigan's human
populations increasingly became active in the "Hopewell Interaction
Sphere" — an extensive network based on both economic and cultural
interactions. In southern Michigan, physical manifestations of the
Hopewell culture included the construction of burial mounds and the
production of ceremonial pottery. During the same time, several
other cultural complexes existed in Michigan, including one desig-
nated by James E. Fitting as "Lake Forest Middle Woodland," which
flourished in the forested, northern areas of the lower peninsula. 21
The trend of increasing reliance on plant foods continued
during the Early Woodland period, reinforced by the introduction of
domesticated plant species in areas south of the Great Lakes. By the
Middle Woodland period (300 BC - AD 500/600), two distinct
subsistence patterns predominated in Michigan. Southern populations
continued a diffuse subsistence pattern based on a combination of
hunting, fishing, and collecting wild plant foods. This strategy was
supplemented by the adoption of domestic species of sunflowers and
squash, which provided a food source that was more reliable than
wild plants. The collection of plant seeds, both wild and domestic,
gradually became the most important subsistence activity for southern
populations. It is speculated that the development of focal agricul-
tural economies in areas south of the Upper Great Lakes contributed
to the decline of the vast "Hopewellian" trade networks, as the need
for social control over geographically scattered resources decreased. 22
14
North Manitou Island's Settlement History
In northern Michigan, where climatic conditions effectively
precluded reliance on domestic plant foods, the predominant subsis-
tence strategy remained more focused on hunting and fishing. The
development of larger lakeside villages in northern regions during
the Woodland period suggests an increasing reliance on spring and
summer fishing, a trend that perhaps was spurred by the invention of
effective fishing nets. During the winter, northern populations fo-
cused on hunting woodland caribou, moose, bear, beaver, and hare. 23
The range of wild plant foods utilized by northern populations
during the Early and Middle Woodland periods probably was not
significantly larger than that of the Archaic period. Important plants
likely included Canada plum, hickory, walnut, and butternut. 24
During the Woodland period, the region that now contains
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore remained within a major
"transition zone" between northern and southern "biotic provinces."
The area thus contained floral and faunal elements typically associated
with larger communities located either to the south or the north. The
distribution of plant and animals species probably resembled the
patterns that characterizes the region today. The northern, or "Cana-
dian," biotic province, is dominated by northern coniferous forests.
The "Carolinian" province is characterized by deciduous forests, and
extends from the Great Lakes toward the south and east. The bound-
ary between these biotic provinces is somewhat indistinct, consisting
of a transition zone that contains floral and faunal elements of both
the Canadian and Carolinian provinces (figure 2.2). Sixteen northern
plant species currently reach their southernmost limit near the na-
tional lakeshore, while 17 southern plant species approach the nortli-
23 Lovis, Mainfort, and Noble, "Ar-
chaeological Inventory and Evaluation
of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore," 29; Cleland, "Prehistoric
Animal Ecology," 94-95.
24 Richard Asa Yarnell, "Aboriginal
Relationships between Culture and
Plant Life," 142-143.
Canadian Biotic Province
KEY:
Transition Zone
Drawing by Eric MacDonald and Katie Franks
North
F igure 2.2. Position of the Transition Zone
between the Canadian and Carolinian
Biotic P rovinces in the U pper M idwest.
15
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 2.3. American Indian
Subsistence Strategies, Late Woodland
and Early Historic Contact periods.
25 Jeffrey J. Riclmer, "Archeological
Excavations at the Platte River
Campground Site (20BZ16), Sleeping
Bear Dunes National Lakeshore,
1987" (Lincoln, Nebr.: Midwest
Archeological Center, National Park
Service, 1991), 9.
26 Lovis, Mainfort, and Noble, "Ar-
chaeological Inventory and Evaluation,"
92.
27 Lovis, Mainfort, and Noble, "Ar-
chaeological Inventory and Evaluation,"
96; Cleland, "Prehistoric Animal
Ecology," 95.
28 Lovis, Mainfort, and Noble, 'Ar-
chaeological Inventory and Evaluation
of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore," 92; Gilbert/ Common-
wealth, "Cultural Resource Assessment
of Proposed Rehabilitation of the
Platte River Campground," 21; Haswell
and Alanen, Garden Apart, 20; Yarnell
concluded that the average number of
consecutive frost-free days "was the most
important limiting factor for prehistoric
agriculture. He estimated that the
successful cultivation of corn and other
cultigens in the Midwest required a
minimum average growing season of
120 days. See Yarnell, "Aboriginal
Relationships between Culture and
Plant Life" 126-137.
North
areas of 1 40 or fewer frost-free days
areas of more than 140 frost-free days ■
KEY
Big game hunting =
Hunting =
Agriculture /
_ hunting /fishing =
Intensive
_ agriculture =
Sources: Derived from Helen Hornbeck Tanner, ed., Atlas of Great Lakes
Indian History (Norman, Okla.: University of Oklahoma Press, 1987);
Charles E. Cleland, Rites of Conquest (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1992).
Drawing by Eric MacDonaid and katie Franks
ernmost limits of their ranges. The precise extent and geographic
position of this zone is somewhat variable, depending on nonbiotic
environmental factors and climate fluctuations. 25
Archaeological evidence dating from the Late Woodland
period (AD 500/600 - 1620) indicates that settlements in the Sleeping
Bear Dunes vicinity were "low-density occupations," and that the area
was "occupied and exploited on an infrequent basis by small
groups." 26 These groups probably resided more generally in north-
western lower Michigan, where they congregated into larger lakeside
camps for fishing during the warm-season months. During winter, the
camps dispersed into smaller, family-based hunting parties. 27 Al-
though the lake-moderated climate of the Sleeping Bear Dunes region
was well within the effective limit for successful cultivation of corn
and other domesticated plant species, archaeological data suggest that
prehistoric peoples did not cultivate crops within the specific national
lakeshore boundaries. 28 Whereas wild plant foods and, increasingly,
domesticated plants became important staples for southern popula-
tions during the Woodland period, the prehistoric inhabitants of the
national lakeshore region evidently maintained a more diffuse
economy that was focused on seasonal hunting and fishing, aug-
mented by the collection of wild plants — a strategy typical of north-
16
North Manitou Island's Settlement History
ern, or Canadian province, populations in the upper Great Lakes
(figure 2.3). 29
The Sleeping Bear Dunes landscape possessed numerous
floral and faunal elements that most likely were exploited by Late
Woodland populations. Both the number and diversity of potentially
useful resources were enhanced by the region's position within a biotic
transition zone. The ranges of many economically valuable game
animals, including black bear, raccoon, woodchuck, chipmunk, squir-
rel, beaver, muskrat, porcupine, hare, and whitetailed deer, extended
into the lakeshore region. The area's Lake Michigan shoreline, and
various inlets, inland lakes, and streams, made it a valuable fishing
ground for sturgeon, pike, pickerel, lake trout, muskellunge, bass,
bullhead, sucker, and other desirable food species. Furthermore, the
lakeshore's position along a segment of the Mississippi flyway prob-
ably enhanced its value as a hunting ground for game birds, as did the
region's extensive maple-beech forests — the preferred feeding ground
for migrating flocks of passenger pigeons. 30 The lakeshore region also
contained abundant floral resources, which likely were exploited by
Woodland and early Historic period populations. All three of the
most economically important tree species — sugar maple {Acer saccha-
rum), paper birch (Betula papyrifera), and white cedar (Thuja
ocddentalis) — are native to the region, as are the two most important
food plants: sugar maple, and wild rice. Other economically valuable
plant species found within the lakeshore include basswood (Tilia
americana), American beech (Fagus grandifolid), blueberries (Vacanium
spp.), blackberries and raspberries (Kubus spp.), chenopods {Chenopo-
£um spp.), and duck potato [Sagittaria latifolid)? 1
Prehistoric Habitation on North Manitou Island
The general pattern of non-intensive, seasonal use, which seems to
apply to the national lakeshore in general, also is consistent with the
prehistoric material evidence collected from North Manitou Island.
Archaeological sites indicate that North Manitou Island was occupied
by aboriginal peoples by 1000 BC, and again between AD 1000 and
the time of European contact (ca. 1630-1650). The clustering of
known archaeological sites on the island suggests that prehistoric
occupation was concentrated along the eastern shore of the island. 32
One of the sites, 20LU38, was relatively substantial in size, suggesting
that it may have been occupied by a large group, or that it may repre-
sent several, successive occupations by smaller groups over a longer
time period. 33 The sites indicate that the resources of North Manitou
Island may have been utilized more intensively than otherwise would
be expected of island habitats in general. The reason for this is
unclear, as it is likely that island habitats contained few, if any, floral
or faunal elements that would have been less abundant or unavailable
on the mainland.
Faunal resources that Late Archaic and Woodland peoples
may have sought on North Manitou Island include small mammals
such as squirrel, hare, and perhaps beaver and muskrat. Other
29 Lovis, Mainfort, and Noble, "Ar-
chaeological Inventory and Evaluation,"
91-92, 96; Gilbert/ Commonwealth Inc.
of Michigan, "Cultural Resource
Assessment of Proposed Construction
Activities South Manitou Island,
Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore, Michigan," (National Park
Service, 1985), 6: Cleland, "Prehistoric
Animal Ecology," 95.
30 Richner, "Archeological Excavations at
the Platte River Campground Site," 9.
31 Yarnell, "Aboriginal Relationships
between Culture and Plant Life," 141-
145.
32 Charles E. Cleland, "A Preliminary
Report on the Prehistoric Resources of
North Manitou Island" (Detroit:
William R. Angell Foundation. 1967), 11.
33 Lovis, Mainfort, and Noble, "Archaeo-
logical Inventory and Evaluation," 91.
17
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
animals, such as black bear, whitetailed deer, and moose, probably
were hunted on the mainland, but most likely were not available on
the island. None of these larger animal species inhabited the island
at the time of Euro-American settlement (ca. 1830). In addition to
small mammals, passenger pigeons and various water birds and their
eggs may have been available on the island during short seasonal
intervals. Aboriginal peoples may have used sheltered shoreline sites
on the island as fishing camps. A severely deteriorated dugout canoe
recovered in 1966 from Lake Manitou suggests that the island's
inland lake may have been utilized as a source for fish, turtles, or
frogs. 34 Archaeological evidence collected from the mainland indi-
cates that the Late Archaic and Late Woodland inhabitants of the
lakeshore region also collected and utilized wild plants, although it
is not clear whether such activity also occurred on the islands. 35
Appendix B lists the present-day floral elements of North Manitou
Island that may have been utilized by aboriginal populations. 36
Life after the Arrival of the Wemitigoji
Near the end of the Late Woodland period several distinct cultures
existed in the upper Great Lakes region. These included the Lake
Winnebago culture in eastern Wisconsin, the Fisher culture situated at
the southern end of Lake Michigan, the Blue Island culture near
present-day Chicago, the Peninsular Woodland culture at the northern
end of Lake Michigan, the Lalonde culture around Georgian Bay, and
the Owasco culture of southeastern Michigan and southwestern
Ontario. The Late Woodland populations of Michigan and the
portion of Ontario north of the Great Lakes appear to be the prede-
cessors of the Algonquian-speaking peoples who inhabited the region
at the time of contact with Europeans (ca. 1640) — the Ojibwa,
34 Cleland states that the canoe "was
"probably of Indian manufacture," but
adds that it could have been produced
by "early European settlers or lumber-
men" (Charles E. Cleland, "A Prelimi-
nary Report on the Prehistoric Resources
of North Manitou Island", 10-11).
If the sites on North Manitou Island
represent hunting and fishing occupa-
tions, then the populations of these
camps likely "would have been exclu-
sively male. The labor associated "with
tending agricultural crops, gathering
wild plant materials, and processing
and storing these commodities "was
largely within the economic realm
relegated to "women. See James A.
Clifton, George L. Cornell, and James
M. McClurken, People of the Three Fires:
The Ottawa, Potawatomi and Ojibway of
Michigan (Grand Rapids: Grand
Rapids Inter-tribal Council, 1986), 2;
Cleland, Rites of Conquest, 186-192.
36 Appendix B also includes a brief
assessment of human/environment
interactions during recent prehistoric
times.
37 Yarnell, "Aboriginal Relationships
between Culture and Plant Life," 14;
Cleland, Rites of Conquest, 25.
38 Haswell and Alanen, Garden Apart, 20.
39 Yarnell, "Aboriginal Relationships
between Culture and Plant Life," 14. Ottawa, Potawatomi, and Miami. 3 ' The Late Woodland inhabitants of
40 The recognition of Ojibwa, Ottawa,
and Potawatomi as culturally distinct
groups is largely an historical artifact
imposed by Europeans and Euro-
Americans. All three "tribes" speak
similar dialects of the Algonquian
language and share similar mythologies
and cultural bekefs. Differences among
various Anishnabeg groups may have
been heightened, or perhaps made
manifest, through interactions with
Europeans. Despite such cultural
differentiation, however, the
Anishnabeg remained unified during the
early Historic Contact period through
traditional kinship and trade relation-
ships, and "were loosely organized
politically as the "Three Fires Confed-
eracy." See Clifton et al., People of the
Three Fires, v; Cleland, Rites of Conquest,
40-41; James M McClurken, Gah-
the Sleeping Bear Dunes region appear to have had cultural affilia-
tions with populations situated to the south in present-day Oceana
and Mason counties, in Wisconsin's Door Peninsula, and to the north,
near Mackinac. 38
During the early Historic Contact period, the American
Indian groups situated around the upper Great Lakes included
members of the Iroquoian, Siouan, and Algonkian linguistic families.
The Algonkian groups included the Ottawa, Ojibwa, Menomini,
Potawatomi, Mascouten, Miami, Sauk-Fox, and perhaps Kickapoo,
many of whom were located around the western Great Lakes. 39 The
area from southern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula through
Ontario north of the Great Lakes was inhabited by the Anishnabeg —
peoples that today we identify separately as the Ojibwa, Ottawa, and
Potawatomi. 40 The Anishnabeg culture originated at the North Atlantic
coast in the vicinity of present-day Newfoundland. Over a period of
several centuries beginning, perhaps, around A.D 1000, the
Anishnabeg migrated westward, becoming firmly established in the
central Great Lakes region by at least A.D. 1500. 41 The
18
North Manitou Island's Settlement History
followed a semi-sedentary settlement pattern. In the south, subsis-
tence trategies centered on agricultural crops, whereas hunting and
fishing predominated in the north, where growing seasons were too
brief for cultivation of corn, beans, and squash. 42
Following contact with Europeans during the early 1600s, the
economies and lifeways of the American Indian groups that inhabited
the upper Great Lakes were radically transformed. The French, whom
the Anishnabeg called Wemitigoji, initially established a strong military
and trade alliance with the Huron Indians, who occupied territory
near Montreal, the economic capital of New France. The Ottawa were
the first Anishnabeg people to establish direct trade relations with
Europeans. A French expedition may have encountered Ottawa
Indians near Montreal as early as 1615. 43
By the 1640s intensive fur trapping had seriously depleted the
population of beaver in eastern North American, prompting the
Iroquoian tribes, who were allied with the British, and who occupied
much of these eastern territories, to invade lands further to the west.
To escape the ever-more-frequent Iroquois raids, the Ottawa, who
then were living in southern Ontario, relocated to northern Michigan
and Wisconsin. At the same time, a series of disease epidemics and
warfare with the Iroquois nearly destroyed the Huron, who until then
had remained the principal trading partners of the French. 44 The
Ottawa subsequently became the primary trading partners of the
French, serving as "middlemen" between the French and the
Anishnabeg people to the north and west. 45
As a result of almost continuous incursions by Iroquois war
parties, the lower peninsula of Michigan was largely depopulated.
Ottawa settlements were concentrated near the northern tip of the
lower peninsula, along the northern shore of Lake Michigan, to the
Keewenaw peninsula and the Lake Superior shoreline to
Chequamegon, near Bayfield, Wisconsin — territory that they shared
with bands of Ojibwa. By the early 1670s the military strength of the
Iroquois had greatly waned. The Ottawa re-established their head-
quarters at present-day St. Ignace, Michigan. By the early 1700s the
Ottawa had established large villages in northern lower Michigan,
particularly along the lakeshore where longer growing seasons permit-
ted corn cultivation. 46
In 1742, the Ottawa moved their main village from St.
Ignace to Wawgawnawkezee (also known as Good Hart, or Middle
Village), near present-day Harbor Springs. The French name for the
location, L'Arbre Croche (crooked tree), eventually was attached by
Euro-Americans to the entire coastal region from Mackinac to the
southern shore of Little Traverse Bay 47 The Ottawa eventually
established villages throughout the western half of the lower
peninsula southward to the Grand River Valley. Agricultural crops,
which were grown near these scattered, semi-permanent camps,
were supplemented with wild game, fish, and wild plant foods,
Jhagwah-Buk (The Way It Happened): A
Visual Culture History of the Utile
Traverse Bay Bands ofOdawa (East
Lansing: Michigan State University
Museum, 1991), 3.
41 Cleland, Rites of Conquest, 8-10;
McClurken, Gah-Baeh-J hagivah-Buk, 3.
According to Cornell, some scholars
speculate that the "westward migration
of the Anishnabeg may have been
spurred by devastation from diseases
introduced to eastern North America
by Norse settlers around A.D. 1000.
See George L. Cornell, "Ojibway," in
Clifton, et al., People of the Three Fires,
10,-11.
42 Cleland, Rites of Conquest, 45-49.
4j McClurken, Gah-Baeh-Jhagivah-Buk, 3.
44 James M. McClurken, "Ottawa," in
Clifton, et al., People of the Three Fires,
13; McClurken, Gah-Baeh-Jhagivah-Buk, 3.
45 McClurken, Gah-Baeh-Jhagwah-Buk, 3;
McClurken, "Ottawa," 12; The name
"Ota'wa," or "Odawa," is traditionally
thought to derive from the Anishnabeg
term meaning "to trade" or "trader."
See McClurken, "Ottawa," 11;
Cleland, Rites of Conquest, 86. Basil
Johnston disputes this interpretation,
however, proposing instead that the
name more likely "came from
ottauwuhnshk, a river reed that this
branch of the Ashnaubaek used as
matting, bedding, and partitions." See
Basil Johnston, The Manitous: The
Spiritual World of the Ojibway (New
York: Harper Collins, 1995), 245.
46 McClurken, Gah-Baeh-Jhagivah-Buk, 3;
McClurken, "Ottawa," 13; Cleland,
Rites of Conquest, 147; Haswell and
Alanen, Garden Apart, 21-23.
47 McClurken, Gah-Baeh-]hagwah-Buk, 4;
Haswell and Alanen, Garden Apart, 22-23.
19
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 2.4. American Indian
Settlements, Leelanau Peninsula
Vicinity, ca. 1830.
48 McClurken, Gah-Baeh-Jhagwah-Buk, 3-
5; Cleland, Rites a/Conquest, 186-192.
In addition to the traditional crops of
corn, beans, and squash, the American
Indians of the L'Arbre Croche district
also reportedly cultivated apple trees,
"which probably "were introduced to
them by French missionaries or traders.
See M. L. Leach, A History of the Grand
Traverse Region (Traverse City: Traverse
City Herald, 1 883), 7; Helen Hombeck
Tanner, Atlas of Great lakes Indian
History, 5. Utilization of sugar maple
and "wild rice may have increased
following contact "with Europeans, due
to the availability of copper kettles for
boiling maple sap and parching "wild
rice. See Yarnell, "Aboriginal Relation-
ships between Culture and Plant Life,"
78, 144-145.
49 Cleland, Rites of Conquest, 193.
50 Cleland, Rites of Conquest, 178-180,
186-192; McClurken, Gah-Baeh-
Jhagwah-Buk, 3.
Lake Michigan
North
Sources: Derived from Helen Hombeck Tanner, ed. T Atlas of Great Lakes
Indian History (Norman, Okla.: University of Oklahoma Press, 1987).
Drawing by Eric MacDonald and Katie Franks
KEY:
Ottawa / Ojibwa =
Ottawa =
Ojibwa =
Current national
lakeshore boundary =
particularly maple syrup. During winter months the villages dis-
persed into smaller groups which migrated to southern hunting
grounds. 48
By the early 1800s, the Ottawa of the Grand Traverse
Region were joined by bands of Ojibwa Indians. The Leelanau
peninsula, at this time, was a "transition area" between these two
closely-related groups. 49 The Ojibwa coexisted with the Ottawa,
establishing villages of their own, forming combined Ottawa and
Ojibwa settlements, and strengthening kinship ties through inter-
marriage. These Leelanau peninsula communities almost certainly
were involved in the fur trade, which peaked in the Great Lakes
region shortly after the War of 1812 (ca. 1812-1820). Important
trade goods during this time included not only beaver, otter, and
marten pelts, but also locally-grown corn, squash, beans, sunflowers
and wild plant foods, dried meat and fish, maple sugar, woven bags,
mats, pitch and bark, and articles of clothing 50
By 1830 there were at least seven American Indian villages
in present-day Leelanau and Benzie counties (figure 2.4). In the
vicinity of the present-day Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore, these included an Ottawa settlement near Platte Lake,
and combined Ottawa and Ojibwa villages near the mouth of the
20
North Manitou Island's Settlement History
Crystal River, near present-day Leland, and near Cathead Point. 51 As
in the past, no major settlements were located on either South or
North Manitou islands. Both islands, however, probably were
utilized occasionally for hunting and fishing. In 1823, Albert G. Ellis
(1800-1885) remarked that the "Big Manitou" island appeared "to
have been a great resort of the Indians." While Ellis and his travel-
ing comapnions awaited a gale to sweep their schooner westward,
they viewed a line of mounds stretching for a half mile along the
beach. Ellis noted that the mounds were topped by wooden frames,
which he postulated were "evidently for a game of athletes at
jumping . . . their tracks were abundant proof of the game, at which
it appeared they had been exercising, only a day or two before our
visit." 52 Ellis' account suggests that the North Manitou landscape
may have held additional cultural significance for the local Ameri-
can Indian population.
Euro-American Settlement
Over-trapping of fur-bearing species, combined with a collapse in the
European market for felt, precipitated the disintegration of the Great
Lakes fur trade during the late 1820s — an event that in turn seriously
eroded the economic stability of the region's American Indian inhab-
itants. 53 By the mid-1 830s, the Great Lakes fur economy was substan-
tially defunct. In its place, a new economy based on agriculture and
maritime commerce was developing, spurred by the opening of the
Erie Canal in 1825. The long-term viability of the semi-sedentary
settlement pattern of the Ojibwa and Ottawa was undermined
further by mass migration of Euro-Americans into the tribes' winter
hunting grounds in southern Michigan (figure 2.5). Under extreme
political and economic pressure to sell their lands to the U.S. Gov-
ernment, the Ottawa relinquished claim to the northwestern third of
Michigan's Lower peninsula and the entire Upper Peninsula in 1836,
formally opening the Sleeping Bear Dunes area to Euro-American
settlement. 54
The off-shore islands of Lake Michigan were among the first
locations in northern Michigan to be colonized by Euro-Americans.
The first non-Indian inhabitant of North Manitou Island may have
been an unmarried man named Joseph Oliver who moved to the
island during the 1820s to hunt and fish. 55 By the early 1830s, Euro-
American settlers, especially immigrants from New England, Ire-
land, Scandinavia, and the German states, also began settling in the
coastal areas of northwestern lower Michigan, establishing missions,
trading posts, and cabins among the area's American Indian inhabit-
ants. Because water was the principal mode of transport during the
early nineteenth century settlement occurred along the shoreline
and along navigable waterways. The sheltered channel between the
Manitou islands and the mainland subsequently became an important
shipping lane known as the Manitou Passage. Within a decade after
the opening of the Erie Canal, numerous wood-burning steamers
51 Haswell and Alanen, Garden Apart, 23-
24.
52 Albert G. Ellis, "Fifty-four Years'
Recollections of Men and Events in
Wisconsin," Report and Collections of the
State Historical Society of Wisconsin 7:
232-233 (1876).
53 Cleland, Rites of Conquest, 180.
54 Haswell and Alanen, Garden Apart,
25; Gilbert/Commonwealth, "Cultural
Resource Assessment of Proposed
Rehabilitation of the Platte River
Campground," 25; Cleland, Rites of
Conquest, 225-228. Under terms of the
1836 Treaty of Washington, the U.S.
Government retired the nation's
outstanding debts, and promised
financial support for schools, agricul-
tural programs and missions, and yearly
cash payments.
55 Rita Hadra Rusco, North Manitou
Island: Between Sunrise and Sunset (n.p.:
Book Crafters), 26.
21
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 2.5. Euro-American and
American Indian settlement areas, ca.
1830.
North
Sources: Derived from Helen Hornbeck Tanner, ed., Atlas
of Great Lakes Indian History ( Norm an , Okla. : Uni versity of
Oklahoma Press, 1987); Charles E. Cleland, Rites of Conquest
(Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1992).
Drawing by Eric MacDonald and Katie Franks
KEY
Territory deliniation =
Euro-Americans =
American Indians =
56 The area known as the "Pot Holes," a
series of spring-fed, concave depres-
sions that have northern exposures,
currently supports a northern conifer
forest community dominated by balsam
fir and "white ash (Fraxinus americctnd).
57 There has been no study of the
historic vegetation of North Manitou
Island. The description given here is
derived from the analysis of the
island's current flora completed in
1983 by Hazlett and Vande Kopple,
the descriptions published during the
late nineteenth- and early twentieth-
centuries by Henry C. Cowles, Harry
Nichols Whitford, and Samuel Monds
Coulter, and the original notes of
surveyor Orange Risdon, "who also
visited the island in 1847.
were plying the waters of the Great Lakes. A few industrious
Yankee pioneers established outposts on the islands and began
cutting timber to supply lake steamers with fuel wood.
Accounts dating from the early- to mid-nineteenth century
suggest that much of the North Manitou Island landscape then
supported a dense cover of northern hardwood forest. At the time of
Euro-American settlement, the dominant species in this community
probably were eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis), American beech, and
sugar maple, with patches of northern conifers occurring on steep,
north-facing slopes. Such coniferous stands may have consisted mostly
of white cedar, balsam fir {Abies balsamea), and white birch, inter-
spersed with striped maple (Acerpensjlvanicum). S6 Poorer soils near the
shoreline probably supported a mixed forest of conifers and hard-
woods. The relict lake plain and beach ridge along the island's eastern
side probably was covered by an extremely diverse coastal forest
consisting of white pine (Pinus strobus), red maple (Acrer rubmm),
white birch, and hemlock, with scattered sugar maple, big-tooth aspen
(Populus grandidentata), white cedar, balsam fir, and red oak {Quenus
mbra). Areas of sandy soils, or highly eroded slopes, probably sup-
ported only sparse, low-growing vegetation, as did the dunes along the
coastal margin. 57
The beauty of these forested, island landscapes did not go
unoticed by early Great Lakes travelers. In one of the earliest written
22
North Manitou Island's Settlement History
Legends of Sleeping Bear
The dramatic terrain of the Sleeping Bear Dunes
region has long had a spell-binding quality. During
the late nineteenth and early twentieth century,
Euro-Americans delighted in repeating "old Indian"
legends and myths about the landscape, a trend
that converged with efforts to romanticize local
scenery and capitalize on the region's potential as
a summer resort. An early-twentieth-century
version of the most popular, most often-repeated
legend about the origin of Sleeping Bear Dune and
the Manitou islands is given below. It is followed by
a less well-known (perhaps less romantic)
explanation. Divorced from their context in
Anishnabeg cosmology and mythology, these
accounts become merely quaint, fantastical stories
that caricature and belittle the richness and
intricacies of Anishnabeg culture and belief
systems. 1 Yet the enduring appeal of such stories
reveals the extent to which multiple layers of
cultural meaning remain embedded within the
landscape of the Sleeping Bear region.
Legend of the Sleeping Bear
Many years ago the Wisconsin shore of Lake
Michigan suffered a famine so great that even the
animals died of want.
A mother bear and her cubs walked the
beach for days, gazing with wistful eyes across the
deep waters at the verdant shores of Michigan,
longing to reach them, but not daring to make the
attempt. Eventually hunger overcame timidity and
mother bear with a cub at each side, struck out. At
first fortune favored the three. Nearer and nearer
approached the goal as the mother's words of
encouragement urged on the weary, nearly
famished cubs; they did their very best.
When only twelve miles from the land of
plenty, the mother's heart was rent as she saw a
babe sink. With the remaining cub she struggled to
gain the beach. Two miles of slow dragging and
the second of her cherished ones sank.
The mother reached the beach and crept
to a resting place where she lay down facing the
restless waters that covered her lost ones. As she
gazed, two beautiful islands slowly rose to mark
■the
the graves. These were called the Manitous-
home of the departed spirits.
To this day the Sleeping Bear Is pointed
out to all voyagers up and down the great lake.
The G reat Muckwah (B ear)
From the land of the Illinois word came to the
tribes of Michigan that a giant black beer had
made its appearance and was killing many people
and devastating the country. In vain had the
boldest hunters essayed to match their strength
and skill with that of the great "muckwah." It was
said that he was so large and powerful that he
paid no attention whatever to arrows or spears;
but knocked over the strongest warriors with a
mere slap of his huge paw and devoured men,
women and children. All the country was In alarm
and people fled from their homes to places of
safety.
No calamity of equal Importance had
occurred since the great famine or the days of the
flood.
Soglmaw, the most noted hunter of the
Ottawas, was prevailed upon to seek the monster
and slay him. Soglmaw was gone a fortnight and
returned with the word that he had seen Muckwah;
but if he were ten times as strong and as big as
twenty more men like himself he would still be no
match for the animal.
The people all shuddered at his story; and
were further terror-stricken when the report came
that the giant bear was making his way northward,
leaving death and desolation In his wake. They
huddled together in the wigwams, quaking with
fear at every little noise, thinking it might be
Muckwah ready to pounce upon them.
Mondapee, an old brave who towered
head and shoulders above his companions- a
veteran who had been able to over-power all his
adversaries, laughed and said, 'do not be
alarmed, my children; I will go forth and kill
Muckwah."
his heaviest warclub, arrayed in his
23
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
famous fighting costume, Mondapee sallied forth
amid the plaudits of his people. For six days
nothing was heard from him; but horrible stories
still reached his tribesmen regarding the
depredations of the great bear. So a searching
party was sent out for the warrior. Not very far from
his home in the forest, near a clump of hemlock
trees, they found Mondapee's warclub and a few
belongings. He had been torn to pieces and
devoured by Muckwah.
A day or two later a little girl ran
breathless into her parents' wigwam saying that
she had seen Muckwah; that he had killed the two
companions with whom she was playing, but by
running swiftly through the bushes she herself had
managed to escape. When asked to describe the
monster she said he was taller than the highest
wigwam and longer than six canoes placed end to
end.
Frantically the people hid themselves In
caves and in other out of the way places. Any
person who had the temerity to stray away to any
distance generally disappeared forever; and If they
were so fortunate as to return It was always with
additional tales of rapine and murder.
' and crafty runners were sent out over
the country in an effort to band the inhabitants
together for a unified attack upon Muckwah; but
before the plan could be put Into execution the
ferocious beast attacked three of the largest
villages in the proposed federation and destroyed
every wigwam. It seemed as though the monster
was destined to crush out all human opposition,
and the population was in despair.
A few days after this cataclysm, however,
it was reported that Muckwah, satiated with his
crimes and misdemeanors, had curled up on the
shore of the lake to take his long winter nap. Now
was the time for action! Councils were held and
vast bands of warriors assembled; huge flint-tipped
arrows were hastily manufactured and giant spears
devised; war dances were the common pastime,
and soon the signal smoke arose from every
hilltop.
In the meantime, while all these vast
preparations were going on, Muckwah was
overpowered and conquered; not by warriors, but
by a gentle maiden, who to save the people,
carried a potion from an old sorceress, and
creeping cautiously over the sand dunes, placed In
carefully at the nostrils of the bear. Muchwah was
soon overcome by the powerful fumes and expired
with scarcely a struggle.
He lies to this day where his death took
place, on the eastshore of Lake Michigan, where
he may be seen from passing boats at a point
called Sleeping Bear.
Source :J ohn C. Wright Stories of the Crooked Tree, H arbor Springs,
Mich.: Lakeside Press, 1915.
f For academe accounts of Anishnabeg mythology and folklore see
Victor Bamouw, Wisconsin Chippewa Myths & Tales andTheir
Relation to Chippewa Life (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press,
1977); Charles E.CIeland, Rites of Conquest The History and Culture
of Michigan's Native Americans (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan
P ress, 1992), pp. 1-73; Theresa S . S mith, The Island of the
Anishnaabeg: Thunderers and Water Monsters in the Traditional
Ojibwe Life-world (Moscow, Idaho: University of Idaho Press, 1995).
For an attemptto situate traditional Anishnabeg beleif systems in a
contemporary cultural context see Basil J ohnston, The Manitous:
The Spiritual World of the Ojibway (New York: Harper Collins, 1995).
24
North Manitou Island's Settlement History
accounts of the local scenery, Margaret Fuller praised the natural
beauty of the Manitou islands. Writing in 1843, on a "most beautiful
beach of smooth white pebbles, interspersed with agates and
cornelians [sic]," Fuller remarked: "No one lives here except wood-
cutters for the steamboats. I had thought of such a position, from its
mixture of profound solitude with service to the great world, as
possessing an ideal beauty. I think so still, even after seeing the
wood-cutters and their slovenly huts." 58 In 1846 poet William Cullen
Bryant echoed Fuller's assessment. He marveled at the natural
wonders of "the upper Maneto island" when his steamer stopped
there to take on wood. Wrote Bryant:
". . . we landed and strolled into the forest. Part of the
island is high, but this, where we went on shore, consists
of hillocks and hollows of sand, like the waves of the lake
in one of its storms, and looking as if successive storms
had swept them up from the bottom. They were covered
with an enormous growth of trees which must have stood
for centuries." 59
Indeed, the island's natural resources, especially its forests, first
attracted the attention of Euro-American settlers in the first half of
the 19th century.
The writings of Fuller and Bryant, and the activities of the
area's first wave of Euro-American presaged a new era in the history
of the North Manitou Island environment. At the beginning of the
nineteenth century, the island landscape probably existed much as it
had for the previous three millennia, since at least the end of the
Antithermal episode. The activities of prehistoric humans, and
American Indians during the Historic Contact period, certainly
affected the ecological and aesthetic character of the landscape.
However, both the scale and the nature of such impacts were so
subtle as to seem insignificant in comparison with the massive envi-
ronmental change brought about by Euro-Americans during the mid-
nineteenth century. Such change reflected a radically different envi-
ronmental ethic — a wholly different conception of human nature, of
the natural world, of the cosmos — one that was, perhaps, most
candidly reflected in the rectilinear subdivision of the earth's surface
into standard, marketable units (figure 2.6). Land, and the community
of life that it supported, was a commodity to be traded, exploited, or
engineered for the exclusive benefit of an individual land owner.
The Cord Wood Era on North Manitou Island
The islands and coastal harbors of northern Lake Michigan became
important nodes in the early commerce of the Great Lakes, serving as
trading posts and as way-stations for settlers and goods bound for
mainland ports. The first wooding station in the Manitou Passage was
established in the mid-1830s when William Burton began cutting cord
wood on South Manitou Island. 60 In 1847, John La rue moved from
Chicago to the Manitou Islands, and "finding the climate favorable
50 Margaret Fuller, Summer on the Lakes,
in 1 843 (Urbana and Chicago: University
of Illinois Press [1844] 1991), 18-19.
Fuller "was 33 years old "when she
recorded this journey into "what then
was considered the far "western frontier.
Along with Emerson and Thoreau, she
■was a member of the Transcendental
circle, and had "worked with Emerson
on editing the Dial since 1840. Although
she had authored numerous essays,
poems, and sketches, Summer on the
Lakes, in 1 843 "was Fuller's first original
book-length "work. She characterized it
as a "poetic impression," implying that
she did not rely solely on her memory
for the details described in the book.
William Cullen Bryant, The Letters of
William Cullen Bryant. Vol. 2. Edited
by William Cullen Bryant II and
Thomas G. Voss (New York: Fordham
University Press, 1977), 444.
6u Roger L. Rosentreter, "Leelanau
County," Michigan History, September/
October 1985, 8-11; Brenda Wheeler
Williams, Arnold R. Alanen, and
William H. Tishler, 'Coming through with
Rye': An Historic Agricultural Landscape
Study of South Manitou Island at Sleeping
Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Michigan
(Omaha: Midwest Field Area, National
Park Service, 1996), 27.
25
a Comfortable Wilderness
T.32. N.
KEY
10
: section number
: section line
: quarter section line
T. 31. N.
North
l i
1
mile
North Manitou Island Township and Section Locations
FIGURE 2.6
Drawing by Eric MacDonald and Katie Franks
26
North Manitou Island's Settlement History
to his health, Air. La rue commenced trading with the Indians, and
the next year moved his establishment over to the mainland,"
locating at what is now Glen Arbor. 61 In his quest for health, La rue
may have been attracted by the sense "profound solitude and ideal
beauty" that had so captivated Margaret Fuller. La rue was not
alone on the island, however. Sprague's nineteenth-century history
of the Grand Traverse region notes that when La rue established his
trading post there was a pier and a wharf on both Manitou islands. 62
Thurlow Weed, who visited North Manitou during the same year
when La rue arrived, reported that one family was living on the
island, and forty men were employed cutting and hauling wood. 63
The North Manitou pier mentioned by Sprague probably
belonged to Nicholas Pickard, who commenced a large-scale wood-
cutting enterprise on the island sometime between 1842 and 1846. 64
An undated Leelanau Enterprise newspaper item on file at the Leelanau
County Historical Society states that Pickard's initial wood-cutting
crews were mostly local American Indians. 65 Pickard located his
wooding operation along the southeastern shore of the island at a site
that he purchased in partnership with Charles Stringham. Neither
Pickard nor Stringham owned timber land in this vicinity, suggesting
that they were harvesting wood from land that they did not own. In
1849, however, Pickard and Stringham did purchase a significant
parcel of land in Section 34, T32N, R14W, which was located in the
northern portion of the island. Pickard managed his wood-cutting
operation in partnership with his brother, Simon, who joined him in
the business in 1846. 66
Pickard's North Manitou Island wooding station was well
established by the time William Cullen Bryant's steamer stopped there
in 1846. In addition to commenting on the splendor of the island's
natural scenery, Bryant reported that "on the shore were two log-
houses inhabited by woodsmen, one of whom drew a pail of water
for refreshment of some of the passengers from a well dug in the
sand by his door." 67 A year later, government land surveyor Orange
Risdon described Pickard's wharf as "one hundred fifty feet by sixty
feet built on piles on the southeast quarter of section fifteen near the
survey line." Risdon also noted that "there were two dwelling houses,
a grocery, blacksmiths [sic] shop, storehouse and other buildings — a
good establishment." 68
Risdon's notes also provide detailed information about the
North Manitou's vegetation at the time of Euro-American settle-
ment. On the island's eastern coastal plain, Risdon recorded a forest
of hemlock, beech, and sugar maple intermixed with white pine, red
pine (Pinus resinosa), and scattered white cedar and birch. Further
inland, the forest was dominated by large hemlock, beech, and
maple trees. In certain places, especially on ridges, Risdon recorded
numerous, large hemlock trees, beneath which grew "very little
herbage." 69 In other places Risdon encountered "a great growth of
Herbage on the ravines & slopes of hills faring [sic] the East &
'"' Elvin Sprague, The GrandT raverse
Region, Historical and Descriptive (Chicago:
H. R. Page & Co., 1884), 223; 334.
62 Sprague, Grand Traverse Region, 223.
63 Robert T. Hatt, J. VanTyne, L. C.
Stuart, C. H. Pope, and A. B.
Grobman, Island Life: A Study of the
Land Vertebrates of the Islands of Eastern
Take Michigan (Cranbrook Institute of
Science, Bulletin No. 27, 1948), 8,
citing J. B. Mansfield, History of the
Great Takes, vol. 1. (Chicago: H. H.
Beers Co., 1899), 209, 212-213.
64 Rusco, North Manitou Island, 27;
David L. Fritz, "History Data Report
on North Manitou Island, Leelanau
County, Michigan" (Denver: U.S.
Department of the Interior, National
Park Service, 1987), 3.
65 "Yesterday in Leland," Teelanau
Enterprise, n.d., Betty Kramer Collec-
tion, Leelanau County Historical
Society, Leland, Michigan. The
American Indian members of Pickard's
"work crews probably came from the
Ottawa and Ojibwa settlements that
remained on the mainland during this
period.
66 Rusco, North Manitou Island, 29.
67 Bryant, Tetters, 444.
s ° Orange Risdon, survey notes [1847],
transcribed by Charles Kruch, Sleeping
Bear Dunes National Lakeshore,
Empire, Mich. 1989.
69 Orange Risdon, "Original Survey
Notes," 1847, transcribed by Charles
Kruch, 1989, Sleeping Bear Dunes
National Lakeshore, Empire, Mich.
27
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
North Manitou Island as a Wooding Station in 1847
Thurlow Weed, editor for the Albany, New York, Evening Journal, traveled in j uly 1847 from Buffalo to
Chicago aboard the steamship Empire, and returned aboard the St. Louis. Weed published an account
of his journey in a series of letters to the Evening journal. Two of Weed's letters mention stops at North
Manitou Island.
3 J uly
At 7 o'clock this evening we touched at one of the Manitou islands for wood. At this point all the
steamers 'wood.' This island, some three miles by ten in extent, is only Inhabited by the few persons
employed in cutting and hauling wood. It Is not even inhabited by animals. I saw none of the feathered
race. Reptiles are seldom seen. And In the absence of all these, mosquitoes, finding no one to torment,
come not to the Manitou island.
9 J uly
Our boat was headed for the North Manitou Island, which, being only thirty-five miles distant, we
reached long before sunset. On the north-west side of this Island the sand banks rise, in some places,
full two hundred feet above the surface of the lake, and, what is singular, this island of sand is without
Its 'sand beach.' The shore is almost as bold, where the banks are high, as that in our Highlands. We
were told that there is a large lake upon the summit of this island, abounding with trout, but on landing I
found that this lake was upon the level part of the Island, and even with the surface of Lake Michigan.
This sand soil produces nothing but wood, though I do not understand why a soil that sustains a maple
and beech forest should not bear wheat, corn, and vegetables. There are some forty men employed
here in cutting and hauling boat wood, for which $1.75 per cord is paid. The only family here is from
Granville, Washington County. Among the privileges they regret is that of voting a Whig ticket. From the
last of October until May, they know nothing of what is passing In the world. We left the Manitou Island
at 8 o'clock
SouRCEiJohn Brandt Mansfield, ed. and comp., History of the Great Lakes, vol. 1 (Chicago, J . H. Beers, 1899; Cleveland, Freshwater Press,
1972), 212-213.
70 Risdon, survey notes, between
Sections 20 & 21,T31N, R14W
71 Risdon, survey notes, between
Sections 8 & 9, T31N, R14W The plant
that Risdon denoted as "ground
hemlock" may be Taxus canadensis, a
species that, according to Hazlett and
Vande Kopple has been largely
extirpated from North Manitou by the
island's non-native deer herd. See
Hazlett and Vande Kopple, Terrestrial
Vegetation, 44.
72 Risdon, survey notes, between
Sections 31 & 32, T32N, R14W
73 1&£, between Sections 15 & 16, T31N,
R14W
North." 70 Scattered throughout the forested landscape were areas
that were "not very well wooded" and "hills covered with Ground
Hemlock." 71 At Lake Manitou, Risdon recorded a belt of "Hemlock
Cedar & Fir bordering lake," with adjacent lands that were "good
meadow land lightly Timbered Cedar, Birch, Ash, Elm, Maple etc. . . .
pleasantly rolling with gentle swells . . ." 72
Risdon's notes indicate that substantial portions of the
forest in the vicinity of Pickard's dock already had been cleared by
1847 (figure 2.7). A quarter-mile inland, near the southeastern shore
of the island, Risdon encountered an area that he described as
"timber cut off & no other trees." A half-mile to the north, on a
ridge near "Blair's Boarding house for wood choppers," Risdon
described the forest as "Beech, Sugar, Hemlock," but noted that the
timber was "now cut off for Steam Boats." 73 Risdon's accounts of
the landscape suggest that the predominant strategy of the island's
wood choppers was to clear-cut large swaths of forest, moving
28
North Manitou Island's Settlement History
forest / woodland
"a small chopping
of 5 or 6 acres clearing"
Captian C. Blake House
clearing
200 to 300 cords
now corded")
Blair's boarding house
for wood choppers
Pickard's Wharf
(two dwelling houses,
grocery, blacksmith shop,
store house
and other buildings)
"Land worthless,
sand ridges,
ravines and hollows
and bald sand blows"
Source: Derived from Orange Risdon, "Original Survey Notes, "1847,
transcribed by Charles Kruch, 1989 (Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore,
Empire, Michigan).
1
North
i
Cord-wood Clearings and Structures on
North Manitou Island, 1847
FIGURE 2.7
i ' 1
V2 1
mile
Drawing by Eric MacDonald and Katie Franks
29
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
74 Ibid, between Sections 27 & 34, T32N,
R14W
75 Rosentreter, "Leelanau County."
76 Rusco states that the west-side pier
"was constructed by Simon Pickard in
1854. Fritz notes that Nicholas Pickard
purchased the dock property in 1855,
and suggests that the structure "was built
sometime after that date. See Rusco,
North Manitou Island, 29; David L. Fritz,
"History Data Report" 4.
77 Rusco, North Manitou Island, 29.
78 For a more detailed description of the
Great Lakes timber industry, its
relationship to the growth of the city of
Chicago, and its environmental impact
on the region, see William Cronon,
Nature's Metropolis: Chicago and the Great
West (New York: W. W Norton, 1991).
79 Fritz, "History Data Report," 4.
80 U.S. Census Office, "Eighth [1860]
Census of the United States — Popula-
tion," microfilm copy of manuscript
schedules, Library of Michigan, Lansing.
The 1870 population census recorded
no American Indian inhabitants on
North Manitou Island. Appendix C
contains tabulations of the federal
population censuses of North Manitou
for decades 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900,
1910, and 1920.
81 Haswell and Alanen, Garden Apart, 36.
inland from coastal areas and leaving little more than brushwood in
their wake.
Nicholas and Simon Pickard later established a second dock
at the shoreline of Section 34, T32N, R14W This northern wooding
station may have begun operation before Pickard and Stringham
purchased the property in 1849, as Risdon's survey noted a significant
"cord wood chopping" area in the vicinity to the south, and to the
north "a small chopping of 5 or 6 acres" near a house occupied by
"Captain C. Blake." 74 The Pickards expanded their North Manitou
wood cutting venture during the 1850s. Their wooding station on the
eastern shore of the island became the central node of settlement on
the island. Shortly after the state legislature organized the Manitou
Islands into a separate township within Manitou County in 1855, the
first township meeting was held in "the store house of Pickard &
Brother on North Manitou." 75 Also, around 1855 the Pickards con-
structed a new pier on the western side of the island. As with his east-
side operations, Nicholas Pickard purchased only a 52-acre parcel
along the western shoreline, which provided little more than a site for
a pier and wharf. He probably obtained logging rights to most of the
timber on the surrounding lands through business contracts with
neighboring property owners. 76
Timber extraction on North Manitou Island not only became
more extensive during the 1850s, but it also evolved into an industry
capable of producing value-added commodities. In 1855, Cornelius
Jones built a saw mill on the eastern side of the island, and the
following year Edwin Munger constructed another mill on the west-
ern shore near Pickard's dock. 77 The construction of these mills
effectively extended the market for the island's timber resources
beyond the demand generated by steamship traffic. As a raw material,
Pickard's North Manitou cordwood fueled the transportation system
that conveyed the island's milled lumber to the booming Chicago
market. 78
Nicholas Pickard purchased large tracts of timbered land in
1855, and again in 1857, thereby becoming the largest land owner on
North Manitou Island. By 1862, Pickard had acquired more than 1,200
acres of island timber land. 79 The 1860 federal population census
recorded 270 Euro-American persons on North Manitou, half of
whom were immigrants from foreign countries, most from Germany
or Scandinavia. In addition, the 1860 census recorded 180 American
Indian inhabitants dispersed throughout the islands of Manitou
County. 80 The proportion of European immigrants on North and
South Manitou Islands was nearly twice that of the mainland, and
only two mainland townships, Centerville and Glen Arbor, had
greater total numbers of immigrants than North Manitou Island. 81
Newly arrived immigrants may have been attracted to the
islands by the abundance of wage jobs in the cordwood trade, which
remained viable on North Manitou Island through the 1860s. North
Manitou's 1860 population included 39 day laborers, most of whom
30
North Manitou Island's Settlement History
probably were employed as wood cutters. In addition there was one
fisherman/farmer, ten farmers and seven farm laborers, most of
whom probably were connected to the various island wooding or
lumber enterprises. 82 Nicholas Pickard owned a large farm on the
island, the only agricultural operation for which the 1 860 census taker
collected data. The other important enterprise on North Manitou
Island during the 1860s was fishing, which occupied three of the
island's immigrant families. 83
Cord wood and lumber remained the primary industry on
North Manitou Island during the decade following the 1860 census.
According to Munn, George F. Aylsworth, Sr., assumed operation of
Simon Pickard's west-side wooding station and dock around 1857.
Aylsworth acquired forty acres near the southwestern corner of Lake
Manitou in 1 864, and eventually took over the logging operations on
the western side of the lake, perhaps consolidating his control by
1866. A small settlement known as "Aylsworth" developed around the
west side dock. 84 Nicholas Pickard also operated a saw mill on the
eastern side of the island during the 1860s. 85 It seems likely, however,
that the island's timber resources were substantially depleted by
sometime during the 1860s. At the time of the 1870 federal census,
the island's population had declined by nearly two-thirds, to 91
inhabitants. 86 The proportion of European immigrants on the islands
remained high, however. Combined, North and South Manitou
islands had an immigrant population of 95 persons, which repre-
sented 57 per cent of their total population. In contrast, the propor-
tion of foreign-born residents of the region as a whole was only 28
per cent. 87
It is likely that wood cutting drastically impacted the ecol-
ogy of North Manitou Island. Because most of the island's timber
was intended for use as fuel, wood cutters probably were non-
selective in choosing the species and size classes of trees to remove.
Except in places where topography made timber extraction difficult,
most areas of the vast, inland virgin sugar maple-beech-hemlock
forests, and virtually all of the more accessible mixed coastal
forests, probably were removed by clear-cutting, leaving only small
saplings and shrubby understory growth. The wood cutters drasti-
cally altered the light and micro-climatic characteristics of the island
landscape, causing the demise of countless woodland understory
plants which were replaced by open-community herbaceous species
and pioneering woody species such as juniper, black cherry, and
birch. European settlers also brought with them Eurasian weed
species, which likely colonized the extensive patches of open land
left by the timber cutters. Such transformation of the environment
also affected the island's animal populations. In effect, the extensive
timber-cutting activities of the cordwood era resulted in a radical
alteration of the island's ecosystems.
Although none of North Manitou Island's residents reported
their occupations as farmers in the 1870 federal census, two of them,
82 U.S. Census Office, "Eighth [1860]
Census of the United States — Popula-
tion."
83 U.S. Census Office, "Eighth [1860]
Census of the United States — Popula-
tion;" U.S. Census Office, "Eighth
[1860] Census of the United States —
Schedule 4, Productions of Agricul-
ture," microfilm copy of manuscript
schedules, State Archives of Michigan,
Lansing.
84 Fritz, "History Data Report," 6; Jim
Muhn, "Historic Resource Study:
Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore, Michigan," Jill York
O'B right, ed., (Denver: National Park
Service, [1979] 1984), 97-98; According
to Muhn, Aylsworth took over Pickard's
dock in 1857. The dock closed in 1873.
He sold his "west- side land holdings,
including the dock location, in 1884.
85 Fritz, "History Data Report," 6.
Pickard's mill "was located in the vicinity
of the current North Manitou Village.
The approximate site maybe deter-
mined from a tract of land identified
from an 1874 land transaction between
Nancy Pickard and the U.S. Treasury. A
copy of this document is located at
Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore headquarters, Empire, Mich.
86 U.S. Census Office, "Ninth [1870]
Census of the United States — Popula-
tion;" microfilm copy of manuscript
schedules, Library of Michigan, Lansing.
87 Haswell and Alanen, "Garden Apart,"
49.
31
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
88 U.S. Census Office, "Ninth [1870]
Census of the United States — Schedule
3, Productions of Agriculture,"
microfilm copy of manuscript sched-
ules, State Archives of Michigan,
Lansing; Haswell and Alanen, Garden
Apart, 77.
89 Rusco states that Aylsworth discon-
tinued his business in 1872; Muhn
claims that Aylsworth closed his "west
side dock in 1873. Fritz further reports
that Aylsworth sold his "west-side land
holdings, including the dock location, in
1884. See Rusco, North Manitou Island,
29; Muhn, "Historic Resource Study,"
97-98; Fritz, "History Data Report," 6.
90 Fritz, "History Data Report," 6-7.
91 Manuscript schedules, federal
population census, 1870; Homestead
Entry #7013, Final Certificate #5308,
National Archives and Records Admin-
istration, Washington, D C. Haswell
and Alanen {Garden Apart, 40) state that
the first homestead entry on North
Manitou Island "was made by Richard
Kitchen in 1863. Kitchen's entry,
however, "was for land on South
Manitou Island.
92 U.S. Census Office, "Tenth [1880]
Census of the United States — Popula-
tion," microfilm copy of manuscript
schedules, Library of Michigan, Lansing.
including Nicholas Pickard, did produce significant quantities of
agricultural commodities. In fact, the North Manitou farms, which
together encompassed 620 acres of improved land, were signifi-
cantly larger and more highly developed than farms on the main-
land, probably because vast tracts of land had been cleared for fuel
wood. 88 On these lands, farmers replaced the native woodland
vegetation with new, domesticated Eurasian cultigens such as rye,
barley, oats, and wheat, as well as domesticated New World plants
such as potatoes and corn. They supplemented the island fauna with
domesticated horses, sheep, cattle, hogs, and poultry.
Subsistence Farming and Maritime Navigation
The depletion of timber resources, along with the increased use of
coal-burning steam engines in Great Lakes transport, precipitated the
end of the cord wood era on North Manitou Island. George
Aylsworth abandoned his lumber operation on the western side of
the island during the early 1870s. 89 Nicholas Pickard continued his
island wood cutting business into the mid-1 870s, although probably at
a reduced intensity. He may have resided in Leland or Buffalo, New
York, during this time, while his brother Simon administered the
island operations. Following Nicholas Pickard's death in 1876 at the
age of 59, his widow, Nancy, retained his North Manitou Island
property. During 1877 and 1880 she purchased more than a thousand
acres of additional island lands, probably for speculative purposes; she
began selling the property between 1881 and 1886. 90
In the wake of the wood cutters, settlers came from New
England, Scandinavia, and Germany to make farms on the cut-over
land (figure 2.8). The first homestead claim for land on North
Manitou Island was filed in 1875 by Andrew Anderson, an immigrant
from Sweden who had been employed on the island in 1870 as a
fisherman. 91 Three years later Gustaf and Alary Swan, also Swedish
immigrants, filed a homestead application for land in the southern
portion of the island, not far from Andrew Anderson's claim. The
1880 federal population census counted seven farmers on North
Manitou: Andrew Anderson, Gustav O. Swan, Frank Hanson, Larson
Larson, Francis Etli, John Strang, and Baptist Tramel. 92 Appendix D
catalogs the characteristics of North Manitou's homesteads, as de-
scribed by the claimants in official homestead documents.
Following the demise of the cord wood trade, steamship
traffic on the lakes increased, and the Manitou islands remained vital
links in the Great Lakes maritime transportation system during the
last quarter of the nineteenth century. Nicholas Pickard and others
established a volunteer rescue station on North Manitou Island in
1854. Reflecting the island's growing importance in maritime naviga-
tion, an official U. S. Lifesaving Service Station was established in
1874 on a 20' x 40' parcel near Pickard's wharf in Section 34,
T32N, R14W, an area that later became known as North Manitou
Village. In 1877 the U.S. Life-Saving Service built a life boat station
32
North Manitou Island's Settlement History
proximate to this parcel. On June 7 of that year, Daniel Buss, who
was Nancy Pickard's brother, was appointed the first captain of the
all-volunteer crew on North Manitou. The following year, the
station had a paid crew of six men. 93 Throughout the late nineteenth
century, the U.S. Life-Saving Service improved the North Manitou
Island station. In 1887 the service constructed a dwelling at the
station to house the crew. Other crew members with families con-
structed small, vernacular houses on or near the station, and the
surrounding area began to resemble a small village. At the extreme
southeastern tip of the island, the U.S. federal government con-
structed a lighthouse complex in 1896. The light, housed in a
clapboard-clad, wood-frame tower, was fully functional by mid-
September 1898. 94
Although ships no longer docked at the island as frequently
as they did during the middle of the century, connections with
distant ports remained strong during the late 1800s. Due to the
volume of ship traffic, it was frequently easier for islanders to travel
to, and maintain communication and business linkages with, major
Great Lakes cities such as Chicago, Milwaukee, and Detroit, than
with closer mainland ports like Traverse City, Northport, or
Manistee. The most important mainland port for North Manitou
Island was Leland, where many island inhabitants and property
owners, including Nicholas Pickard, chose to reside at least part of
the year.
Figure 2.8. Immediately after the cord
wood era, most of North Manitou
Island's farms were small, subsistence
operations developed on cut-over land.
Many of the buildings on these early
farms probably were constructed with a
combination of materials, including logs,
drift wood from shipwrecks, and scrap
lumber from the island's sawmills.
93 Rusco, North Manitou Island, 19;
William Herd and Kimberly Mann,
"National Register of Historic Places
Registration Form: North Manitou
Island Life-saving Station," (Empire,
Mich.: National Park Service, 1994).
94 Fritz, "History Data Report," 87-88.
33
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 2.9. The large farmhouse built by
Silas R. Boardman, as it appeared
during the early twentieth century.
Boardman's farm also included two or
three smaller houses, several barns and
outbuildings, and fenced livestock
enclosures.
95 Leelanau Deeds, Liber 21, p. 326,
Stella J. Piatt to Silas R. Boardman;
Shirley Foote Alford, untitled manu-
script ca. 1920s, typed by Josephine
Hollister, n.d., Betty Kramer Collection,
Leelanau Historical Museum, Leland,
Mich.; Rusco, North Manitou Island, 55;
Fritz "History Data Report," 12, 43.
96 Alford, untitled manuscript.;
Josephine Alford Hollister, "The
Summer Resort on North Manitou
Island," February 1989, Sleeping Bear
Dunes National Lakeshore, Empire,
Mich.; Leelanau Enterprise, 16 August
1888.
97 Leelanau Enterprise, 1 August 1889.
Gentleman Farmers
North Manitou Island's economic and social ties with Chicago
remained particularly strong during the late nineteenth and early
twentieth centuries. While poor, immigrant farmers struggled during
the 1880s to develop viable homesteads on the sandy soils of the
southern end of the island, Silas Boardman, a retired Chicago
banker, established a large-scale livestock farm near the North
Manitou Village (figure 2.9). "In search of health," Boardman
arrived on the island in 1884 and bought up large tracts of land,
completing in 1890 a sizable purchase from Stella J. Piatt for lands
in sections 21, 22, 27, 28, 33 and 34 in T32N, R14W, and in sec-
tions 4, 10, and 31 in T31N, R14W 95 Boardman used his vast North
Manitou acreage for free-range cattle grazing. Near the village he
constructed a roomy farmhouse for himself, his wife Alary, and their
daughters, Carrie and Stella, and son Walter. He also established a
post office on North Manitou, becoming the island postmaster in
1888. On his farmstead Boardman constructed a complex of barns
and stables to house his prized Percheron draft horses. 96 The
Leelanau Enterprise reported on the 1889 visit of a Chicago man to
the "stock farm of Mr. S. R. Boardman where we were shown some
very fine stock." 9 ' Boardman probably used his business connections
to secure transportation and a market for his beef cattle in the
Chicago stockyards.
In addition to cattle ranching, Boardman was involved in
another attempt at large-scale, commercial agriculture on North
34
North Manitou Island's Settlement History
Manitou Island during the 1890s. A decade earlier, a fruit tree dealer
named Frederic Beuham had begun developing a large experimental
fruit orchard on his homestead claim located approximately one mile
west of North Manitou Village. With the financial backing of
Boardman and a Wisconsin firm identified as Mann Bros., Beuham
substantially expanded his orchards. During the autumn of 1894,
Stark Bros. Nursery Co., a well-known Missouri-based fruit nursery,
supervised the planting of 1,500 fruit trees on Beuham's North
Manitou Island land. 98
A Landscape for "Pleasure and Recreation"
Although Beuham's 1894 orchard expansion was a significant event
in the evolution of commercial agriculture on North Manitou Island,
Silas Boardman's principal business venture on the island that year
was a real estate development scheme. In collaboration with Chica-
goans George W and Carrie Blossom and Frederick H. and Mary
Trude, Boardman developed an exclusive resort colony on a parcel
of land adjacent to the village. Carrie Blossom, who was Silas
Boardman's daughter, had spent many summers on the island during
her youth, and during a summer visit in 1893 suggested the plan that
led to the development of "Cottage Row." 99 The following spring
Boardman sold a parcel of land south of the U.S. Life-saving Service
Station to George Blossom and Frederick Trude for five hundred
dollars. Blossom and Trude apparently planned to divide the property
into smaller lots that could be sold to their friends as building sites
for summer homes. 100
Boardman attached covenants the deeds in order to control
how the land was to be developed. The covenants stipulated that
the parcel of roughly six acres was to be divided into ten east-
fronting lots 102 feet wide by 300 feet deep, all of which were
situated atop the ridge overlooking the beach. The area between the
beach ridge and the lakeshore was to be reserved for a private park
within which no buildings could be built "except boat houses and
other buildings to be used for pleasure and recreation by the owners
of the ten lots." Two sixty-feet rights-of-way, both running north-
south were reserved for roads along the front and rear lot lines. The
covenants stipulated that the roads "shall not be fenced except at
the pleasure of the owners except at the north and south boundary
of the strip; fences with gates kept closed except to permit the user
of the highway to pass through. . . . owners may not interfere with
public business." Lot owners also were granted free use of
Boardman's pier "for their convenience and pleasure;" and a one-
acre parcel "on the border of the "Little Lake" on Manitou Island
called the 'Manitou Lake' for the purpose of erecting thereon boat
, wharfs [sic], and boat landings." On the lots themselves, build-
ings were restricted to "cottages with outbuildings, excepting
refectories or dining halls with necessary compartments including
sleeping rooms for the person or persons in charge thereof and the
98 Leelanau Deeds, Liber 23, 168-169;
Fritz, "History Data Report," 10. For
more information about the business
relationship between Beuham and
Stark Bros. Nursery Co. see Chapter
Three and Chapter Four.
99 Hollister, "Summer Resort."
100 Hollister, "Summer Resort."
35
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 2.10. Postcard view of North
Manitou Island boardwalk, dated 15
October 1906. A wooden plank walkway,
gas lamps, and shade trees lined the
front of the private resort development
known as "Cottage Row."The cottages
occupied the beach ridge overlooking
the Manitou Passage and the cluster of
buildings that constituted North Manitou
Village, including the U.S. Life-saving
Service station, and the livestock farm of
Silas Boardman.
£fT
....(. :
(
101 Leelanau Deeds, Liber 21, 350-351,
describes the W O. Greene plat.
Covenants in the deed from Silas R.
Boardman and "wife to George Blossom
and Frederick H. Trude dated 1 May
1894; Lot 6 sold to John H. Keating, 20
Nov. 1894. Leelanau Deeds, Liber 21,
326-328. 24 November, 1894. Silas R.
Boardman and Alary K. Boardman to
Frederick H. Trude and George W
Blossom of Cook County. All of
Cottage Row for $500. Copies of other
lot sales are at the Sleeping Bear Dunes
National Lakeshore headquarters,
Empire, Mich.
102 Alford, untitled manuscript; Fritz
("History Data Report," 76) reports that
this initial cottage "was constructed on
Lot No. 10. According to Josephine
Hollister ("Summer Resort"), however,
no structure was ever built upon Lot
No. 10, a scenario that is consistent with
other oral accounts and with physical
evidence at the site. The first cottage,
later known as "Monte Carlo," "was built
immediately north of the Cottage Row
plat. It is now speculated that this
cottage may have been designed by the
young Chicago architect Frank Lloyd
Wright for George W. Blossom. See
Chapter Four.
103 Fritz, "History Data Report," 74.
Fritz also notes that the farmhouse
previously "was occupied by Silas
Boardman's "elderly sisters."
104 Hollister, "Summer Resort";
Leelanau Deeds, Liber 21, 350-351.
servants." 101 As part of the development scheme, Boardman installed
a plank walkway and gas lights along the road in front of the cottage
lots, and eastward along the road leading to the village dock (figure
2.10).
The "Cottage Row" plat was surveyed by W O. Greene, a
local surveyor who had an office on the mainland in Omena, Michi-
gan. The ten lots were numbered sequentially, beginning in the south
and ending with the northernmost parcel, which was closest to the
road leading from the village pier into the interior of the island. The
Blossoms and Trudes quickly set about developing their property. The
May 17, 1894, issue of the Lxelanau Enterprise reported that "Air.
Trude and Mr. Blossom of Chicago, were in town Tuesday and
informs [sic] us that they are about to build some fine cottages on the
North Manitou Island." The first cottage erected on the beach ridge
was built immediately north of Lot No. 10 of Cottage Row during
the fall of 1893 or the spring of 1894 by a Boardman family rela-
tive. 102 Onto Lot #3, the Blossoms moved a small frame farmhouse,
which had previously stood in Silas Boardman's "farmhouse yard." 103
Two additional summer houses were built during the summer of
1894 — the cottages of Howard W. Foote and his wife on Lot #5,
and Frederick and Alary Trude on Lot #4. Foote sent two carpenters
from Chicago to build his North Manitou Island residence. These
men also may have been responsible for building the other cottages
that summer, and one of the two, Nicholas Feilen, later became a
permanent resident of the island. Some of the building materials for
the Foote cottage, including stained glass windows, wooden mold-
ings, and beadboard panels, came from dismantled exhibit booths
from the Manufacturer's Building at the 1893 World's Columbian
Exposition. John Herbert and Ellen Keating, who purchased Lot #6
from Blossom and Trude in November 1894, constructed a cottage
on their parcel the following summer. 104
36
North Manitou Island's Settlement History
Figure 2.11. Hotel, North Manitou Island,
ca. 1910s. The former residence of U.S.
Life-saving Service keeper Daniel Buss
was remodeled to function as a hotel and
dining room. The hotel occupied a site on
the beach ridge north of Cottage Row.
Although notpartof the Cottage Row plat,
this structure served a vital function in the
communal resort developmentscheme. The
building continued to function as a lodging
facility for island visitors until it was
destroyed by fire in 1953.
Figure 2.12. The house builton Lot#9 for
Howard W. Foote in 1901.
Perhaps influenced by the structure built north of Lot #10, all
of the cottages constructed during 1894-1895 (with the exception of
the house moved from the Boardman farm) utilized similar floor
plans: a porch spanning the full east facade that connected to a
central, interior hall/living room flanked on both the north and
south sides by two bedrooms. None of the cottages had kitchens or
dining rooms. Instead, resorters took meals in a communal dining
room, which was located north of the Cottage Row plat. 105 The
dining room structure originally was the home of Daniel Buss, the
first captain of the island U.S. Life-saving Service Station. Accord-
ing to Shirley Foote Alford, either Boardman or Blossom moved the
house to the Cottage Row site and enlarged it to serve as a commu-
nal dining hall and inn (figure 2.12). 106
105 Hollister, "Summer Resort.' :
106 Alford, untitled manuscript.
37
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
107 Fritz, "History Data Report," 73-
76.
108 Brian T. Hazlett, "Flora of Sleeping
Bear Dunes," 140; E. J. Hill, "The
Southern Limit of Juniperus sabina."
Plant World 3 (9): 140 (1900).
109 Ellis, "Fifty-four Years' Recollec-
tions," 232.
Between 1895 and 1896 two additional summer houses were
built as part of the development. A large, one-and-a-half-story cottage
was built on Lot #1, next to the edge of the "beech woods," for
Mrs. William Shepard and her daughter Katherine. The design of the
Shepards' shingle-style cottage allegedly was based on that of their
former home in New Orleans. Next to the Shepards on Lot #2, a
British couple, "Mr. and Mrs. Hewitt," built a smaller, gable-front,
shingle-style cottage. The last cottage constructed during the initial
development phase of Cottage Row was for Howard Foote, who
sold his 1894 cottage on Lot #5 to S. W. McMunn in 1900. The
following year, Foote built a new cottage on Lot #9 (figure 2.12).
Completion of the second Foote cottage left only lots #7 and #8
vacant, although by this time both parcels had been sold to S. W.
McMunn, and G. A. M. Liljencrantz, respectively 107
A Testing Ground for a New Science
The natural beauty of North Manitou Island's forests, lakes, and
sand beaches, as well as its special island-like sense of remoteness
and solitude, attracted those wishing to escape the dirt, noise, and
brisk pace of life that characterized growing Midwestern industrial
cities like Chicago at the close of the nineteenth century. At about
the same time, however, the island's natural qualities and relative
isolation attracted several visitors for a very different reason: the
pursuit of scientific knowledge. The Manitou islands were the first
areas of the northwestern lower Michigan to be explored by early
botanists, probably because they were readily accessible by steamer.
Pioneer botanist George Engelmann obtained specimens during a
trip in 1840. O. B. Wheeler collected red anemone {Anemone
multifield) from North Manitou in 1866. E. J. Hill, a botanist from
Indiana, collected shoreline plants from North Manitou in 1873, and
later published some of his findings. During the mid-1880s,
Frederick Wislizenus, son of the famed St. Louis botanist Friedrich
Adolph Wislizenus, spent over a week on the island. Specimens
from Wislizenus' collection from the island, including grass-pink
(Calopogon tuberosus), pitcher-plant (Sarracenia purpurea), and flat-
leaved bladderwort (Utricularia intermedia), suggest that he investi-
gated the Tamarack Lake area. 108
The ever-shifting dune landscapes of the Sleeping Bear
region had long intrigued to Euro-American observers during the
nineteenth century (figure 2.13). In 1823, Albert G Ellis described
North Manitou as "a mountain of sand," which featured "a beach
some hundreds of feet wide, and a precipitous sand bluff in the rear
. . ," 109 In an early account of the dunes of North Manitou Island,
Captain Lauchlan Bellingham MacKinnon recorded the following
remarks:
The [Manitou] islands are of extremely curious forma-
tion. Densely covered with wood, they are never-the-less
composed entirely of sand. I was informed by Captain
38
North Manitou Island's Settlement History
F igure 2.13. The dunes along the western
shore of North Manitou Island constitute a
landscape of ever-shifting landforms, harsh
microclimates, and extreme environmental
gradients. EarlyAmerican ecologists were
attracted to the lakeshore's dunal
landscapes because of the distinctive biotic
communities and rapid pace of
environmental change thatcharacterize
such places. This photograph of North
Manitou's western shore was taken ca.
1908 - 1915, approximately a decade after
the area was studied by Henry Chandler
Cowles and his students.
M'Comb of the U.S. Topographical Engineers that when
employed in surveying this group he desired to plant a
surveying station on the crest of a sandhill. On attempt-
ing to cut down certain bushes for the purpose he was
much astonished to find that they were the tops of some
cottonwood trees. From the still living foliage he came to
the conclusion that the drifting sand had completely
buried them alive; and believed that two years at the
utmost was the period of time required to envelop them
to the depth of sixty feet. 110
Nearly forty years later, the process described by MacKinnon
inspired the development of a new science: ecology. Historian of
ecology Sharon E. Kingsland traces the roots of modern American
ecological science to the work of three midwesterners: Stephen
Alfred Forbes (1844-1930), Henry Chandler Cowles (1869-1939),
and Frederic Edward Clements (1 874-1 945). 111 In America, the birth
of self-conscious ecology was signaled by formal consideration of
the discipline at the Madison Botanical Congress of 1893, and the
completion of dissertations by both Cowles and Clements in 1898. 112
America's pioneer ecologists drew inspiration from European bota-
nists and geographers, and adapted their ideas to the study of vegeta-
tion patterns in the dunes, prairies, and forests of the Midwest.
In 1866, German botanist Ernst Haeckel defined
"oecologie" as "the science of the relations of living organisms to
the external world, their habitat, customs, energies, parasites, ^'." 113
Despite the definition and name provided by Haeckel, ecology did
not take form as a science until the end of the century. In Europe,
the work of plant geographers Oscar Drude, Andreas Schimper, and
Eugenius Warming transformed ecology into an operative science
during the late nineteenth century. Foremost among these early
ecological pioneers, in environmental historian Donald Worster's
110 Lauchlan Bellingham McKinnon,
Atlantic and Transatlantic Sketches, Afloat
and Ashore (London: Colburn, 1852),
118; quoted in Marion Morse Davis,
"A Romantic Chain of Islands,"
Michigan History 11(3): 348 (1927).
111 Sharon E. Kingsland, "Foundational
Papers: Defining Ecology as a Science,"
in Leslie A. Real and James H. Brown,
eds., Foundations of Ecology: Classic Papers
with Commentaries (Chicago & London:
University of Chicago Press in associa-
tion with the Ecological Society of
.America 1991), 2.
2 Robert P. Mcintosh, The background
of Ecology Concept and Theory (Cam-
bridge, England: Cambridge University
Press, 1985).
113 Ernst Haeckel, The Wonders of Tifle: A
Popular Study of Biological Philosopljy.
Trans. Joseph McCabe. (New York,
London: Harper & Brothers, 1905),
80; quoted in Donald Worster, Natures
Economy: A History of Ecological Ideas
(Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1977), 192.
39
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
114 Worster, "Nature's Economy, 202.
115 Henry Chandler Cowles, "The
Physiographic Ecology of Chicago and
Vicinity," The Botanical Gazette
31(3):145-182 (1901).
115 Henry C. Cowles, "The Ecological
Relations of the Vegetation on the
Sand Dunes of Lake Michigan."
Botanical Gazette 27:97 (1899).
117 Andrew Denny Rogers III, John
Merle Coulter: Missionary in Science
(Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University
Press, 1944), 178.
118 Cowles, "Ecological Relations," 106.
estimation, was Danish plant geographer Eugenius Warming. In 1895,
Warming published The Oecology of Plants: An Introduction to the Study of
Plant Communities. The central theme of Warming's book was the
communal life of organisms. He emphasized the "community," or
natural assemblage, and symbiotic relations among plants. Warming
also proposed a system for classifying major plant formations and
suggested processes of ecological succession or dynamics. Warming's
book was revised and translated into English in 1909. Even before its
translation, however, Warming's example was influencing the work of
early ecologists in Britain and the United States. 114
Inspired by the ecological investigations of European plant
geographers like Warming, American ecologists Henry C. Cowles and
Frederic Clements formulated a dynamic model of plant ecology.
Working in the mid-1890s, Cowles applied Warming's model of
succession to vegetation on Lake Michigan's shores. Trained as a
geologist, Cowles studied the "succession" of plant communities as
they moved inland across the dunes along the southeastern shores of
Lake Michigan. The changes that Cowles observed along an environ-
mental gradient extending from sand beach to wooded dune sug-
gested that vegetation patterns changed both spatially and temporally
in response to geological interactions. 115
From 1896 through 1898 Cowles collected data on the
relationships between plants and dune formations in northern
Indiana. During 1897 and 1898 he spent a portion of the summer
seasons in "a more rapid reconnaissance along the entire eastern
shore of Lake Michigan, including the group of islands toward the
north end of the lake." 116 A biography of Cowles' mentor at the
University of Chicago, John Merle Coulter, notes that "in 1898
Cowles had a class of twelve students in northern Michigan — North
Manitou Island, particularly" 11 ' Cowles and his students evidently
spent a significant amount of time on North Manitou Island, per-
haps finding accommodations in the hotel operated by the Newhalls
or in one of the Cottage Row summer houses. During his stay,
Cowles noted that:
On North Manitou there are prominent areas of dune
activity along the southwest coast, the dunes being super-
posed on bluffs of clay or gravel. There is a flat-topped
terrace here, like that at Glen Haven, but in miniature, the
height being only 15 meters, the greatest altitude being 45
meters above the lake. There are also small wandering
dunes superposed directly upon the beach. On the west
coast the bluffs are steeper and much higher, at times
perhaps 60 meters above the lake; the summits are
occasionally crowned by established dunes. 118
On North Manitou Island and elsewhere along the Lake
Michigan coastline, Cowles described a series of dune formations,
beginning with beach, then stationary beach dunes, active or wander-
ing dunes, arrested or transitional dunes, passive or established dunes,
40
North Maxntou Island's Settlement History
THE ECOLOGICAL RELATIONS OF THE VEGETATION
ON THE SAND DUNES OF LAKE MICHIGAN.
PART I.— GEOGRAPHICAL RELATIONS OF THE DUNE
FLORAS.
0ONTR[EUTIOK5 FKOM THE HULL BOTANICAL
LABORATORY. XI [I.
IllNtl CXAHDLC1 C'JWLIiL
(with FiaunEa 1-2&)
L IntTDnUAtiMU
The province of ecolugy ls to consider the mutual relations
between plants and their environment. Such a study is to
structural botany what dynamical geojogy is to structural g=nl.
ogy . JusL ai mocfern geologists interpret the rtraefcure of the
r^cts by seeking to find how and under what conditions similar
rocks are formed today, 90 ecologies seek to study fchuse plant
structures which are changing at the present time, and thus to
throw light on the origin oE plant structures themselves.
Again, ecology is comparable to phyatoaF*pby. The surface
of the earth is cnifiposed ^f a myriad of topograph ic forms, not
at all distinct, but passing into one another by a series of ahnost
perfect gradations ; the physiographer studies landscapes in
their making, and writes on the origin and relationships- oE topo-
graphic forms. The ecoiogist employs the methods u-f physiog-
raphy, regarding the flora of a pond ni .swamp or hillside not
us a changeless landscape feature-, but rather as 3 panorama,
never twice alike. The ecoiogist, theeu must study the order qj
succession of the plant sureties in the development of a region,
and he must endeavor to discover the laws which govern the
panoramic changes. Ecology, therefore, is a study in dynamics.
For its most ready application, plants should be found whose
tissues and organs are actually changing at the present time in
Figure 2.14. Historians of ecology consider
Henry C.Cowles' study of plantsuccession
in Lake Michigan dune landscapes, which
was published in 1898 and 1899, to be a
"foundational" paper in the developmentof
American ecological science.
and deciduous mesophytic forest. Cowles focused on the physical
characteristics shaping the "seres," or identifiable stages of succession.
From his data, Cowles constructed a theory that related the spatial
sequences of plants on the dunes with the temporal development of
plant associations. His 1899 paper presented an explanatory theory for
"the order of succession of the plant societies in the development of
35119
a region.
Cowles' study of Lake Michigan dunes was one of the first
major ecological investigations in the United States to focus on the
spatial sequences and temporal development of plant associations. 120
The journal Botanical Gazette published his research as a series of
articles in 1899 under the title, "The Ecological Relations of the
Vegetation on the Sand Dunes of Lake Michigan" (figure 2.14). In his
paper, Cowles described an order of dune formations, beginning with
the beach, then stationary beach dunes, active or wandering dunes,
arrested or transitional dunes, passive or established dunes, and finally,
Ibid., 95.
41
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 2.15. In addition to dunes, early
students of ecology studied North
Manitou Island's forest communities.
This landscape view of the island may
have been taken during the first decade
of the twentieth century by a
representative of the U.S. Forest
Service.
12u Kingsland, "Foundational Papers,"
4.
121 Cowles, "Ecological Relations,"
112.
deciduous mesophytic forest. 121 He expanded upon theories of plant
ecology and succession in "The Physiographic Ecology of Chicago
and Vicinity: A Study of the Origin, Development, and Classification
of Plant Societies," which was published in the Botanical Gazette in
1901.
Following Cowles, other early ecologists studied North
Manitou Island's plant communities. 122 Photographs in the Chicago
Maritime Society's John Newhall Collection suggest that the U.S.
Forest Service also may have surveyed the island's forests during the
first decade of the twentieth century (figure 2.15). Harry Nichols
Whitford, a student of Cowles, investigated the island's woodlands
as part of an effort to describe the "physiographic ecology" of
northern forest communities. Whitford regarded North Manitou as
one of four sites in northern Michigan that offered "exceptionally
good fields for a study of the stages in the life history of the forest
societies." 123 Of the island landscape, Whitford wrote:
The whole interior of North Manitou Island . . . except in
clearings and undrained areas, is covered with a mature
maple-beech-hemlock forest. The presence of seedlings
and young trees of these three in abundance and the
absence of all other young trees in their shade indicate
that the future forest growth will be the same as the
present. The climax forest in places reaches nearly to the
shore of Lake Michigan, restricting the coniferous and
heath societies to very narrow belts. If the present shore
42
North Manitou Island's Settlement History
line should remain constant, and if the natural succession
of plant societies were not interfered with by man, un-
doubtedly the whole island would in time become com-
pletely covered with a deciduous forest save a narrow
strip, the last remnants of a coniferous forest, next the
water's edge." 124
Whitford's study was published in the Botanical Gazette 1901. Three
years later another student of ecology published a study based, in
part, on data collected from North Manitou Island. Samuel Monds
Coulter gathered data from Tamarack Lake and Lake Manitou for an
ecological study of wetlands that was presented to the faculty of
Washington University, St. Louis, as a Ph.D. thesis in 1903, and
published by the Missouri Botanical Garden in 1904. Coulter
considered Tamarack Lake to be a prime example of "the undrained
tamarack and black spruce swamp a small decadent lake without
an outlet which is gradually being filled up by the encroaching
vegetation." 125 Coulter categorized the wetland at the northeastern
end of Lake Manitou as a "slowly drained swamp," and described
the area as a "great tract of trees and undergrowth amid a mass of
fallen logs and brush [that] forms a dense jungle of vegetation
which is almost impenetrable." 126 Several years later, Robert T Hatt
and other wildlife ecologists included North Manitou in their study
of island fauna in the Great Lakes region. 127
The dunes, forests, and wetlands of North Manitou thus
contributed to the development of a distinct, twentieth-century
environmental science that much later would deeply influence the
ways in which humans perceived and interacted with the island
landscape. Men like Cowles, Whitford, and Coulter expressed a view
of the non-human natural world — an explanation of how nature
works — that was fundamentally different from the Arcadian or
utilitarian attitudes of the previous century. For example, in discuss-
ing the evolution of forest communities, Whitford gave special
attention to the stages of succession in forests that had fallen under
"the influence of human agencies," including in his research clear-
ings that showed "unmistakable signs of the devastating influence
of man." 128 Whitford noted that North Manitou's forests had "at-
tained the last stage in the life-history" {i.e., climax forest), partly
because they had been relatively "free from the influence of man." 129
His comments foreshadowed the managerial focus that later would
permeate much ecological research, and profoundly alter the North
Manitou landscape.
Corporate Farming
During 1897-1899, around the time that Cowles' ground-breaking
research was published, Silas Boardman sold his North Manitou
Island property to Franklin Newhall and his son, Benjamin. 130 Shirley
Foote Alford alleged that Boardman's stock farm was a financial
failure because "shipping . . . stock was only possible in favorable
122 Brian T. Hazlett, "The Flora of
Sleeping Bear Dunes," 140-142.
12j Whitford, "Genetic Development of
the Forests," 295-296.
124 Ibid., 302
125 Coulter, "Ecological Comparison,"
42.
126 Ibid, 48.
127 Robert T. Hatt, J. VanTyne, L. C.
Stuart, C. H. Pope, and A. B. Grobman,
Island Ufe: A Study of the Land Verte-
brates of the Islands of Eastern Lake
Michigan (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.:
Cranbrook Institute of Science, 1948).
Although published in the late 1940s,
Hatt carried out field investigations on
the island during 1916.
128 Whitford, "Genetic Development of
the Forests," 323.
n9 Ibid, 316.
130 The earliest photographs of North
Manitou in the albums of John
Newhall, which belong to the Chicago
Maritime Society, appear to date from
43
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
North Manitou Island as a Summer Resort
The following text is taken from a small promotional booklet printed ca. 1908. The Newhalls probably
circulated the booklet among friends, business associates, and acquaintances. The playful, sometimes
sardonic, prose of this "advertisement" suggests the extent to which the Newhalls regarded the island as
a landscape for casual recreation and light-hearted revelry among friends.
TO FORMER VISITORS:
Seme old thing as lastyear-same boats, same old horses end carnages. Same fare
(probably) (same dinner bell anyway)- same old dock- same cherry orchard- same Streamer
Missouri-same welcome to yourself and friends.
TO THOSE WHO HAVE NOT VISITED THE PLACE:
There is an Island up in Lake Michigan where a few nice people go every summer, that may
appeal to you as a place to spend a vacation.
It's up nearTraverse City; is a quietplace, no crowds, no hotel, and almostno modern
Improvements. There is but one steamer per week, each way, stopping at the Island regularly- a
good one.
There is a daily U.S. mail boat, but she is not large enough to be objectionable.
As to the Island itself.
There are many things wanting, which may be found at most summer places, and which many
people might expect- and might want- no boulevards, no merry-go-rounds, no automobiles, not
even a golf course worthy the name.
The Island itself is not very long, nor broad, only a few thousand acres of woods, and a lake in
the middle of it, where they claim Bass are caught, butyou cannot prove that by the writer: of
course he has heard the usual fish stories about l l h pound small-mouthed Bass, etc., but he don't
believe many of them. Probably some are true.
weather." Alford noted that by 1893, Boardman "was still doing a
little farming, and cattle and wild' horses were running freely over
the Island roads and through the woods." 131 Only a few years after
establishing the Cottage Row summer colony, Boardman began
selling his North Manitou property to Franklin Newhall and his son,
Benjamin. A resident of Glencoe, Illinois, Franklin Newhall owned
a successful wholesale fruit business in Chicago, and may have had
a financial tie to Boardman's North Manitou venture. 132
Photographs in the archive of the Chicago Maritime Mu-
seum suggest that the Newhalls had established a significant pres-
ence on the island by 1897. The Newhalls probably acquired their
North Manitou Island property with the intent of engaging in
commercial fruit production. In January 1899 they acquired all of
Frederic Beuham's island property, totaling nearly 923 acres. The
1897, suggesting that the Newhall's Newhalls acquired the acreage from the three Stark brothers and
tenure began within, or shortly after, their wives, suggesting that Beuham had defaulted on his agreement
that year. This is consistent with other wlt h t \ ie s tar k Bros. Nursery Co. 133 Since Boardman and Beuham
44
North Manitou Island's Settlement History
There are numerous carriage roads- paved neither with asphalt nor macadam, butare of
earth and forest leaves. These have their advantages- and disadvantages.
The Island is not entirely wild- a farm house, dining hall, and a few summer cottages,
which the guests seldom use, except to sleep In. If these cottages could have been made any
more simple than they are, the people who built them do notknow how. Then there are the
Government Life Saving Station buildings, the lighthouse, and the three or four farm houses of the
native Islanders.
There are also a few orchards- apple, cherry, etc., which have borne fruit- at times.
There is usually enough to eat, such as It is, mostly things raised on the Island.
The cooking is often good, not always, but the guests who have been there do not
complain- they probably think It Isn't good policy In such a place. Prices forboardare nothigh, but
high enough perhaps forwhatis furnished.
If you are hardy enough after reading all this to think of a visit to the place, write to John
Hewhall on the Island for further details, and he will be glad to tell you more of Its advantages and
disadvantages.
You might write or see some of those who have been there, and they also may be Inclined
to talk about the place. If you do this, be sure to ask them about the Island livery. They love to talk
about that- It's unique- nothing like it in Michigan.
If in a hurry, you would better write or call up F. Hewhall St Sons on South Water Street, and
then after making due allowances for the said firm's personal Interest In the Island, make up your
minds whether ornotyou should go. Itls easy to reach, butsometimes notso easy to leave.
The post office address at the Island is
NORTH MANITOU ISLAND, MICHIGAN
Source: Typed manuscript compiled byj osephine Hollister. Betty Kramer Collection. Leelanau County Historical Museum Leland, Mich.
appear to have been in partnership, it is reasonable to suppose that
their financial fates were linked as well.
The Newhalls quickly expanded their island land holdings. In
1900 they purchased all of Section 16, T31N, R14W— a total of 640
acres. A 1900 atlas of Leelanau county showed Franklin and Benjamin
Newhall to be the largest land owners on the island, controlling more
than 8,350 acres, or more than half of the island's land area. Another
large owner, Gottlieb Patek, owned nearly 4,000 acres. The remainder
of the island was divided among only about a dozen smaller land
owners, most of whom owned acreage clustered near the southern
end of the island. 134 During the first decade of the 1900s, Benjamin
Newhall bought out several of the remaining independent farmers,
including long-time island residents Nels and Sophia Carlson.
Benjamin's brother, John, managed the family's North Manitou opera- accounts, which suggest that the
tion, and himself purchased tracts of island land totaling nearly 100 Newhalls arrived in 1898 or 1899.
acres between 1907 and 1908. 135 131 Alford, untitled manuscript.
45
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 2.16. Road leading from the North
Manitou Village dock, ca. 1900. The
buildings occupying the distant rightside of
this view were built by 5 ilas Boardman.and
served as the base of the Newhall family's
North Manitou farming operation. The post
office and store built by the Newhalls is
situated in the rightforeground.
132 Hollister, "Summer Resort";
Rusco, North Manitou Island, 53-55.
ljJ Leelanau Deeds, Liber 24, 318.
The Newhall family increased the amount of acreage devoted
to fruit cultivation on North Manitou Island. In addition to cultivat-
ing apples, pears, plums and apricots, the Newhalls planted three tart
cherry orchards and two sweet cherries orchards on the island. 136
They also continued to promote the island as a resort. Shirley Foote
Alford, who was a member of one of the original Cottage Row
families, recalled that after the Newhalls purchased Boardman's island
properties, "many Glencoe and North Shore people spent summers at
the Island. There were often forty or fifty people in the dining
room — many young people of college age or younger. Parties, picnics,
plays, hay-rides — such a gay and happy place." 137 The Newhalls
apparently assumed operation of the Cottage Row dining hall and
hotel, offering paying guests either room and board, or the use of
fully furnished cottages. 138 For their own use, the Newhalls con-
structed two frame cottages north of the road leading westerly from
the village dock into the woods. Near the dock, they built a small store
and post office building with an exotic, "pagoda" style roof (figure
2.16).
During the early 1900s, North Manitou increasingly became
a summer resort for wealthy Chicago families. In 1903, Alvar and
Alary Bournique, a Chicago family with connections to the Cottage
Row summer colony, began developing their own private retreat at
the southeastern tip of the island. Alvar Bournique filed a home-
stead application for 152.20 acres in Section 22, T31N R14W, not
46
North Manitou Island's Settlement History
Figure 2.17. Mary McMunn Boumique on
"0 Id Sparkie. "The Bournique family used
their homestead nearthe southeastern end
of the island as a summer residence where
they enjoyed horseback riding, picnics on
the beach, and other leisure-time activities.
far from where Nicholas Pickard had established his first wooding
station a half century earlier. 139 The Bourniques later increased the
size of their parcel to approximately 400 acres. On their North
Manitou property they constructed a large, rustic log cottage facing
Lake Michigan, and a number of smaller outbuildings. Further
inland, the Bourniques developed fields and pastures, and built a
barn and other farm buildings to house thoroughbred riding horses
(figure 2.17). A professional dance instructor, Colonel Bournique
used the upper portion of his horse barn as a ballroom. 140
Return of the Lumberman's Ax and Saw
The Newhalls' diversified business enterprise and the Bournique
horse ranch represented the coincidence of two well-established
activities on North Manitou Island — agriculture and recreation.
However, the most significant industry on North Manitou Island
during the early 1900s was neither farming, nor resort tourism, but
the revival of extensive timber extraction. In his 1901 paper, bota-
nist Harry Nichols Whitford described the hardwood forest of
North Manitou Island as "an ideal example of a climax forest of
maple, beech, hemlock, which in time would cover the entire island
except for a narrow fringe of conifers near the lakeshore." 141 Al-
though much of island was second-growth forestland, the timber
evidently was mature enough to garner the interest of lumbermen
shortly after Whitford recorded his observations. In November 1906
the Smith & Hull Lumber Company of Traverse City, Michigan,
purchased over 4,000 acres of timbered land on the western side of
the island from Gottlieb Patek of Milwaukee.
Because it was relatively far from the former west-side dock
location at Aylsworth, and because it would have been utilized late in
the cordwood era, much of the Smith & Hull acquisition may have
been spared the intensive timber harvesting that occurred on other
134 Fritz, "History Data Report," 56,
12-13.
135 Fritz, "History Data Report," 58.
' j6 Rusco, North Manitou Island, 57.
137 Alford, untitled manuscript.
133 Hollister, "Summer Resort";
Rusco, "North Manitou Island, 58.
139 Homestead Application #11080,
Serial #022; Final Certificate (Patent)
#62772, National Archives and
Records Administration, Washington,
DC.
i4u Rusco, North Manitou Island, 59.
141 Hazlett and Vande Kopple, Terrestrial
Vegetation, 44. Since much of North
47
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 2.18. Crescent, North Manitou
Island, ca. 1908. The short-lived community
ofCrescentdeveloped on the western side
of the island around an extensive dock and
wharf built by the Smith & Hull Lumber
Company, and a steam-powered lumber
mill operated byA. J . White & Son. The
"company town"flourished during 1908-
1915, butthereafter vanished from the
island landscape almostas quickly as ithad
appeared.
Figure 2.19. Smith & Hull narrow-gauge
railroad, nearC rescent. A 28-ton Shea
steam engine hauled timberalong a six-mile
rail spurwhich extended from the interior of
the island to the lumber mill and dock at
Crescent
Manitou had been logged during the
previous fifty years, Whitford may have
focused his studies on portions of the
island that, due to rugged terrain and
remote location, had remained virtually
untouched by cordwood choppers. Such
virgin stands may have existed in the
parts of the island during the 1800s. Shirley Foote Alford recalled that
the area around Lake Manitou was heavily wooded during the late
1890s:
. . . the island itself looked much as it does today [ca.
1920s], except that west of the Little Lake a good deal
of the forest had never been cut. The trees were im-
mense, and white violets bloomed all summer in the
dense woods. North and west of the Little Lake was a
thick cedar swamp, and the shores of the lake were so
thickly wooded that it was very difficult to walk around
them. There was no road around the lake. 142
Smith & Hull centered their operation near the former location of
Aylsworth in Section 1, T31N R15W They completed the construc-
tion of a six-hundred-foot dock in 1908. At the dock location, known
as "Crescent," they developed a new pier and wharf, storage yards, and
housing for workers (figure 2.18). The community had a hotel and a
general store, as well as a saloon, and a schoolhouse that also func-
tioned as a church on Sundays. A large sawmill, which also generated
electricity for the settlement, was constructed and operated by A. J.
White and Son. In addition to this infrastructure, the lumber com-
pany provided a physician, Dr. Frederick Murphy, who rendered
medical services to all islanders, not just Crescent residents.
The Crescent post office opened on 21 September 1908.
The following spring, Smith & Hull constructed a six-mile narrow-
gauge railroad in the northwestern corner of the island to facilitate
the transportation of timber to the dock (figure 2.19). The system
was equipped with a 28-ton Shea engine and twelve Russell logging
cars. In 1909 Smith & Hull began removing hemlock trees from the
island's west side. Over a period of six years, the firm anticipated
harvesting 40,000 board feet of lumber per day during the cutting
season. 143 Due to the influx of lumber and mill workers, North
Manitou Island's population had increased to 215 people when the
48
North Manitou Island's Settlement History
Figure 2.20. North Manitou Island mens'
baseball team, Crescent, ca. 1908-1915.
During the early 1910s Crescenthad an
ethnically diverse population of several
hundred men, and a substantially smaller
number of women and children. The
community supported atleasttwo baseball
teams, one of which was composed of
American Indians whom had left their
homes on the mainland to work in the island
lumbercamps. Opposing teams traveled
from the mainland to play games on the
island. These may have occurred in the
large fields and pastures of the
company-operated farm, which
surrounded the community.
federal census taker visited the island on May 13, 1910 (figure 2.20). 144
Only a few weeks later the island's population nearly doubled when
the company brought a crew of Russian immigrants to work in the
logging camps. 145
Shortly after construction of the Crescent lumber camp, the
Newhalls also began selective timber cutting on their North Manitou
property. Around 1908, Peter Stormer entered an agreement to supply
Wilce Brothers Lumber Company of Empire with timber from the
island. Shortly thereafter, Benjamin Newhall contracted with Stormer
to remove timber from lands on the eastern side of the island (figure
2.21). 146 Stormer and his family took up residence at the former Lars
Christian Alstrom farmstead at the southern end of the island. The
farm provided meat and dairy products for the men, and hay for the
draft animals in Stormer's lumber camps, which were positioned at
various locations at both the northern and southern ends of the
island. In 1917, Stormer expanded his island timber enterprise by
constructing a sawmill and dock near the former location of Nicholas
Pickard's first wooding station dock at the southeastern tip of the
island. 147 At about the same time, logging activity on the western side
of the island had mostly ended. Smith & Hull had substantially
depleted the supply of harvestable timber in the northwestern portion
of the island by the end of 1914. The A. J. White & Son mill operated
through the spring of 1915, while the surrounding lumber camp was
dismantled. The last pieces of machinery left the island in July 5,
1915; less than two months later, on August 31, 1915, the Crescent
post office closed. 148 .
The character of the Newhalls' business enterprise on North
Manitou Island clearly changed during the late 1910s. Perhaps because
they wished to devote more resources to the fruit or logging opera-
tions, or due to other pecuniary or administrative reasons, the
Newhalls "suspended" their island resort business. They closed the
Cottage Row dining room sometime in 1910 or 191 1, presumably so
northwestern portion of the island, in
the vicinity of the Pot Holes.
142 Alford, untitled manuscript.
143 Fritz, "History Data Report," 14-15;
Rusco, North Manitou Island, 97, 102.
144 U.S. Census Office, "Thirteenth
[1910] Census of the United States —
Population," microfilm copy of
manuscript schedules, Library of
Michigan, Lansing.
145 Rusco, North Manitou Island, 101-
102.
146 Fritz, "History Data Report," 86;
Rusco, North Manitou Island, 52;
Hollister, "Summer Resort."
147 Oddly, Fritz (17-18) states that Peter
Stormer stopped cutting timber on the
island around the time "when his
Empire mill burned in 1916, and
49
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 2.21. Logs piled nearNorth Manitou
Village dock, ca. 1910s. Concurrentwith
the Smith & Hull logging activities on the
western side of the island, the Newhall
family began harvesting timberfrom their
lands on the eastern side of the island.
During the early 1910s Peter Stormer
shipped lumberfrom the Newhalls' dock at
North Manitou Village.
implies that Stormer's mill operated
concurrently "with the one at Crescent.
He claims that Stormer sold his 24-acre
parcel on North Alanitou (Section 21,
T31N R14W) to Sherman and
the facility could be used by timber cutting crews. 149 Following closure
of the dining room, Katie Shepard began serving meals to cottage
dwellers in a dining hall located behind her house. Shepard also began
renting rooms in her home to guests, effectively converting her
cottage into a small summer hotel.
The Manitou Island Syndicate
Financial difficulties may have prompted the Newhalls to discontinue
their North Manitou Island resort business. According to Josephine
Hollister, during the early 1920s, Benjamin Newhall lost his family's
island land holdings to a group of Chicago businessmen who held
his mortgage. 150 These men became associated in a nominal partner-
ship known as the "Manitou Island Syndicate" (MIS). With little
documentary evidence remaining extant, the origins, early composi-
tion, and purpose of the MIS remain somewhat obscure. Fritz
implies that the MIS evolved out of the Cottage Row resort devel-
opment, and states that "at various times there were as many as a
dozen members of the Syndicate, with the large landowners func-
tioning as the moving force behind the organization. Through a
general manager the Syndicate engaged in general farming together
with cattle raising, and grew oats, rye, wheat, and other forms of
fodder for the cattle." Fritz states that the syndicate's agricultural
activities supported the Crescent logging venture during 1909-1917,
50
North Manitou Island's Settlement History
Figure 2.22. William R.Angell was an executive officerof the
Detroit-based Continental Motors Corporation from 1917 through
1939, and served as the corporation's treasurerand president
from 1930 through 1939. He began purchasing property on North
Manitou Island in 1926. Through subsequentacquisitions Angell
quickly gained a controlling interest in the Manitou Island
Association.
and that the group afterwards "continued its farming, mainly to
sustain the summer resort dwellers ,.." 151 If this scenario is accurate,
the Newhalls initially must have been affiliated with the syndicate,
since they owned most of the island's agricultural land, and also
controlled the Cottage Row dining and hotel facility during this
time.
During the early 1 920s the group of "large landowners" who
controlled the syndicate probably included Frank N. Reed of
Evanston, Illinois, and Roger Sherman and George M. McConnell of
Chicago. Through a contract dated 15 June 1922, Reed gained
control of the Smith & Hull Lumber Company's North Manitou
Island lands. 152 Josephine Hollister recalled that the Cottage Row
summer home originally owned by George and Carrie Blossom
became the "Reed cottage when the Syndicate took over the is-
land." 153 Reed began selling small parcels to the partnership of
Sherman and McConnell in 1923, which had begun buying land on
the island during the previous year. Probably around this time Reed,
McConnell, and Sherman reorganized the syndicate's island business
operations into a quasi-corporate entity known as the "Manitou
Island Association." By 1925, Sherman and McConnell owned
7,911 acres, or fifty-six per cent of the island, while Reed owned
5,182 acres, most of which were located on the western side (figure
2.23). During the following year Reed sold all of his Smith & Hull
McConnel in 1923. See Fritz, "History
Data Report," 87, 17-18.
148 Rusco, North NLanitou Island, 102-
103. According to Fritz, Smith & Hull
continued logging operations until
1917. See Fritz, "History Data Report,"
17-18.
149 Alford, untitled manuscript.
51
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
KEY
= lands controlled by the
Manitou Island Syndicate
= lands owned by
private individuals
PROPERTY OWNERS
1. John Maleski
2. George Fiske
3. North Manitou Village /Cottage Row
(U.S. government and private individuals)
4. Alvar Bournique
5. Robert Johnson
6. Frank N. Reed
7. U.S. Government
Source: Derived from undated plat map(Manitou Island Association
Collection, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Empire, Michigan).
North
1
mile
Land Ownership on North Manitou Island, ca. 1925
FIGURE 2.23
Drawing by Eric MacDonald and Katie Franks
52
North Manitou Island's Settlement History
lands to Sherman and McConnell, and a new investor, William R.
Angell, began purchasing property on the island (figure 2.22). 154
William Angell probably was introduced to North Manitou
Island and the Manitou Island Syndicate through his friend and
business associate Roger Sherman. 155 A prominent Chicago attorney,
Sherman was one of the original investors in the Autocar Equipment
Company, a corporation that by the mid-1920s had evolved into
Continental Motors Company, one of the largest manufacturers of
automobile engines in the U.S. Organized in Chicago in 1902, the
company constructed a large factory in Muskegon, Michigan, in 1906.
By 1910 approximately half of the automobiles produced in the
United States used Continental motors, including those of such major
manufacturers as Auburn, Hudson, Paige-Detroit, and Studebaker. In
1912 the company opened a huge new factory in Detroit, and moved
its administrative headquarters there. As one of the initial investors in
Continental Motors, Roger Sherman realized a substantial financial
benefit from the company's success. An original investment of only
one hundred dollars was worth $28,000 dollars in 1928. During the
1920s and 1930s, Sherman served on the company's board of direc-
tors, and was vice-president of its automobile subsidiary during the
mid-1930s. 156
Sherman and William Angell worked closely 'with one another
during the late 1920s and 1930s. Born in 1877 in Jesup, Iowa, and
raised in Muskegon, Michigan, William Angell graduated from Kent
College of Law and became a corporate attorney in Chicago. 157
Angell's association with Continental Motors began in 1916 when he
helped the company's founders to reorganize and refinance the
corporation. In 1917 he became corporate secretary, and thereafter
his management roles steadily increased. In 1921 he became vice-
president of the company 158 Rusco states that Angell visited North
Manitou Island during the early 1920s as a guest of Roger
Sherman. 159 In 1926, Angell began purchasing land on North Manitou
Island under the aegis of the "Security Trust Company." Most of
McConnell and Sherman's North Manitou land was transferred to
Angell's Security Trust Company via an agreement dated 1 March
1926. 160 Angell acquired Frank Reed's island property directly from
Smith & Hull for one hundred dollars, and in 1928 he purchased
several small parcels from Newhall family heirs. Within a period of
less than three years, only the portions of the island that remained
outside his possession were the Maleski lands at the northeastern end
of the island, a parcel owned by George Fiske on the eastern side of
Lake Manitou, the Bournique properties at the southeastern end,
and several small lots in the village and along the eastern shore. 161
William Angell and the Manitou Island Association
The shift in power within the Manitou Island Syndicate and its
business adjunct, the Manitou Island Association, was reflected in a
trust agreement created on 1 March 1928. According to the agree-
150 Hollister, "Summer Resort"; Fritz,
"History Data Report," 76, quoting a
letter from Josephine Hollister dated 1 5
January 1986.
151 Fritz, "History Data Report," 71.
Fritz's sources were interviews with
Paul Maleski, letters from Giles
Merritt, and NPS land acquisition files.
The connection between the syndicate
and the Cottage Row resort develop-
ment is implied by an entry in Leelanau
County Deeds, Liber 55, p. 365, which
refers to "10 syndicate lots heretofore
sold."
152 Leelanau Deeds, Liber 55, 365.
153 Hollister, "Summer Resort."
154 Leelanau Deeds, Liber 55, 365; Fritz,
"History Data Report," 1 8.
155 Rusco, North Manitou Island, 9.
156 William Wagner, Continental!: Its
Motors and Its People (Fallbrook, Calif:
Armed Forces Journal International;
53
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 2.24. Women sorting cherries, North
Manitou Island, ca. 1910s. The isolated
North Manitou economy provided women
with few opportunities to earn cash income.
Women and children found wage work
performing domestic chores forthe Manitou
Island Association, andforCottage Row
residents and their guests. A few
agriculture- related chores also were
available to women and children. Mostof
these jobs were seasonal, such as
harvesting, sorting, and packing fruit for
the Newhalls and, later, the Manitou
IslandAssociation.
Aero Publishers, 1983), 70, 5-10, 16-
17, 38.
157 Rusco, North Manitou Island, 9.
153 Wagner, Continental!, 23, 27-28.
159 Rusco, North Manitou Island, 9.
160 Leelanau Deeds, Liber 55, 365-369.
This transaction probably is the
agreement referenced on p. 19 of David
Fritz's "History Data Report." Fritz
notes that the lands "were transferred in
exchange for "one dollar and other
valuable considerations," and that the
merit, George M. McConnell, John McConnell, Allen A. Murray,
Roger Sherman, and William R. Angell each were entitled to one
fifth of the proceeds of North Manitou Island real estate, which was
owned by the Security Trust Company. The agreement stipulated
that the names of the trust beneficiaries were not to be released to
the public, and that inquiries were to be referred to Allen Murray 162
During the 1920s and 1930s the Manitou Island Association probably
was a nominal partnership of these five men. The organization's day-
to-day operations were administered by a paid manager who resided
on the island. According to Josephine Hollister, there were rumors
that the investors planned to develop the western side of the island
as a hotel and golf course. 163 If true, this resort development never
materialized, however; the Manitou Island Association appears to
have carried on a diversified operation during the 1 920s, engaging in
traditional island activities such as fruit farming, logging, commercial
fishing, and supplying ice, wood, dairy products, and fresh vegetables
to the local Coast Guard families and summer cottage owners.
By the mid-1 920s the AHA not only controlled most of North
Manitou Island's land, but also the island's economic and social life.
The Maleski family was the sole remaining independent farm family,
and the island's only other significant employer was the U.S. govern-
ment, which hired men to maintain the island coast guard station and
the lighthouse at the southeastern end of the island. In addition to a
salaried manager, the MIA employed a core workforce of approxi-
mately ten men during 1925-1929. Other laborers were hired during
the summer and autumn months, especially during the cherry and
apple harvests. 164
For the female and adolescent members of several North
Manitou families, the AHA represented a significant market for labor
54
North Manitou Island's Settlement History
in a local economy where opportunities for earning cash income were
limited (figure 2.24) . The wives of AHA employees Henry and John
Anderson were paid for "boarding men" at their homes in the south-
ern portion of the island during haying season, and other island
women were paid for cleaning, washing, and other household chores
at the MIA farmhouse and lodge. Katie Shepard also provided
employment to young women at her hotel and dining room. Nonethe-
less, non-wage, subsistence labor occupied the majority of the island's
women and children during this period.
By and large, wage work, such as that described above,
supplemented traditional subsistence activities. Many island families
maintained small garden plots during the summer months, and a few
kept a couple of dairy cattle, thereby retaining a minimal degree of
self-sufficiency Glen Furst reminisced that the black raspberries
that flourished in the sunlit openings of the island's woodlands were
a significant source of food for islanders during the 1920s. Even
after Furst's stepfather moved the family to South Manitou Island,
he continued to take a few days off each summer to harvest berries
on North Manitou Island. 165 Giles Merritt reminisced that the island
had "acres of wild black berries," and that island residents "canned
them by the bushel." 166 Merritt also recalled that members of the
coast guard crew supplemented their diets by hunting rabbits and
ducks, and by fishing on Lake Manitou during their free time. Other
residents, including the Maleskis and Glen Furst's stepfather, gained
additional income from trapping foxes and selling their pelts. 167 These
exceptions aside, the principal source of cash income on the island
was the multi-faceted business enterprise of the Manitou Island
Association, which also controlled the flow of consumer goods onto
the island through a company store that opened in 1925.
According to Rita Hadra Rusco, the MIA's business dealings
were largely managed by member Jack McConnell, who occupied
the former Boardman and Newhall farmhouse when staying on the
island. 168 The AHA initially focused its operation on agriculture,
basing activities at two farms, one located adjacent to North Alanitou
Village, and the other at the location of the former Crescent lumber
camp. During the 1920s the AHA maintained a large free-range beef
cattle herd, and substantially expanded the orchard acreage devoted to
cherry production. The AHA also began transforming the island
landscape into a more marketable recreational resource. In 1926 the
association released a small herd of white tailed deer on the island
with the intent of eventually establishing a population large enough
to sustain hunting both for sport and the for the national venison
market. The following year the AHA constructed a sawmill near its
North Alanitou Village farm, and began harvesting small amounts of
timber to provide lumber and shingles for the construction and
maintenance of island buildings. Both of these ventures — sport-
oriented recreation, and timber harvesting — became increasingly
agreement "was recorded in Leelanau
County Deeds on 14 November 1927.
161 Fritz, "History Data Report," 19.
162 Trust Agreement, 1 March 1928,
Arthur Jay Lacy Papers, Bentley
Historical Library, Ann Arbor, Mich.
163 Hollister, "Summer Resort."
164 Manitou Island Association
Accounts Journal, September 1924 -
December 1929, MIA Collection,
Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore, Empire, Mich. For a
55
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
complete list of the names that
appeared on the Manitou Island
Association payroll during the years
1925-1929, see Appendix F.
165 Glenn C. Furst, My Point of View
(n.p.,1992),77.
166 Giles E. Merritt, handwritten
recollections, 11 February 1986, Sleeping
Bear Dunes National Lakeshore,
Empire, Mich.
167 Furst, My Point of View, 11; Giles E.
Merritt, handwritten recollections
dated 30 January and 11 February
1986, Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore, Empire, Mich.; Paul Maleski,
Jr., interview by authors, 26 July 1997.
168 Rusco, North Manitou Island, 18.
169 Rusco, North Manitou Island, 9-10;
Rita Hadra Rusco, "Living on the
Island," Detroit Free Press (Detroit
Section), 18 October 1981, 16.
170 Jean Lundquist, interview by Eric
MacDonald, Leland, Mich., 27 June
1999, notes filed at Sleeping Bear Dunes
National Lakeshore, Empire, Mich.
171 Fritz, "History Data Report," 32; I.
H. Bartlett, The North Manitou Island
important components of the MIA's business during subsequent
decades.
A Sportsman's Paradise
During the 1930s management of the island deer herd became an
increasingly important part of the MIA's operation. Other wildlife
species, including raccoon, pheasant, ruffed grouse, and wild turkeys,
were introduced in an attempt to make the island even more attractive
as a sportsman's retreat. 169 However, deer was the species most
favored by Angell and the managers of the Manitou Island Associa-
tion. Jean Lundquist, who spent summers on the island during the
late 1930s through the 1950s, recalled that Angell planted fields of
alfalfa near Cottage Row to encourage deer to visit the village area.
During the late 1930s the MIA ceased harvesting apples from the
vast Beuham orchards, leaving the annual crops as fodder for the
growing deer herd. Angell also banned dogs from the island for fear
that they would chase or kill young deer. 170 By 1930 the white-tailed
deer population had dispersed throughout the entire island. Trails
were evident by 1935, and two years later a noticeable browse-line
was visible in the island forests. The AHA obtained a breeder's
license from the State of Michigan for deer and raccoon, allowing
the association to manage and sell the animals for profit. Eighteen
deer were harvested in 1927 during the first hunt organized by the
MIA.
The MIA's sport hunting business became more sophisticated
during the 1930s. Hunters were accommodated at the MIA lodge (the
former Cottage Row dining hall), which could house 20-25 guests at a
time. 171 During the winter of 1938-39 the MIA began feeding the deer
in order to maintain the population at artificially high levels. 172
Throughout the hunting season all of the MIA's employees worked as
guides, and additional labor was procured from the mainland. 173
Edgar McKee, the AHA manager during the late 1930s, recalled the
carefully planned, almost business-like, character of the hunting
experience:
None of the hardships of hunting and taking care of your
deer existed then. The hunter was transported to his
hunting spot and picked up at the appointed time. The
hunter's job was to shoot the deer his guide pointed out to
him. The guide took care of preparing the deer and
dragging him to the appointed spot to be picked up. 174
Each sportsman was assigned a guide and a specific one-mile-square
section within which he could hunt. 175 The AHA guaranteed that
each hunter would take home at least one deer. AHA employees
routinely cruised the island for deer to be given to hunters who
failed to shoot and kill their own buck or doe. Apparently the island
deer population was so large that obtaining the requisite number of
animals for this purpose was a relatively simple task. McKee de-
scribed the process:
56
North Manitou Island's Settlement History
I would take my rifle in the company station wagon with a
couple of guides, and drive through the woods. Most of
the deer I shot, I shot from the window of the car. The
boys would dress them out, and throw them in the back
of the car. It was not unusual to take in four or five deer
in one afternoon.
During this period, hunting privileges most likely were reserved for
the invited guests of MIA members. North Manitou Island thus
functioned as an exclusive hunting preserve, much in the tradition of
the private hunting clubs that became popular with wealthy men
during the late nineteenth century 176
William Angell apparently spent little time on the island
during the 1920s and 1930s. Most likely he was too preoccupied with
his responsibilities at Continental Motors to spend long vacations on
the island or to concern himself in the management of the Manitou
Island Association. In 1929, Angell became president of the
corporation's newly-formed subsidiary, Continental Aircraft Engine
Co. The following year the founder of Continental Motors was "eased
out" of his leadership position, and Angell took over as head of the
company. Angell managed to keep the company financially solvent
through the Great Depression, and in 1939 resigned his dual role as
treasurer and president of the corporation. Although no longer at the
helm of Continental Motors, Angell continued to serve on the boards
of several automotive industry corporations.
After his retirement from Continental Motors, Angell may
have found more time for his many business investments, including
the Manitou Island Association. Angell gradually bought out other
members of the AHA. He also increased his island land holdings,
purchasing several Cottage Row properties during the late 1920s
and 1930s. Angell purchased the former North Manitou Island the
U.S. Coast Guard station, which closed in April 1933, and acquired
the U.S. lighthouse property at the southeastern end of the island in
1938. 177 By 1942, Angell owned seventy per cent of the Manitou
Island Association, and Roger Sherman owned the remaining thirty
per cent. 178 Jean Lundquist recalled that Angell spent most of his
summers on the island during the 1940s. 179
In 1942, Angell employed Jack Hadra as his island business
manager, and hired Hadra's wife, Rita, as the island postmaster and
operator of the MIA general store. The MIA's primary profit-making
activities at this time were cherry production and deer hunting.
Continental Motors continued to reserve much of the deer hunting
season, which extended from mid-October through mid-December,
for the exclusive use of its executives and business clients. 180 In
addition to cherry production and deer hunting, Angell attempted to
revive logging on the island during 1942-43 by hiring a professional
forester to develop a management plan for the island, and by enter-
ing into a timber cutting contract with Raymond Phiel and Edward
Cowles of Gaylord, Michigan. 181
Deer Herd: A History and Suggested
Management Plan, 4 February 1944
(Lansing: Deer Investigations, Game
Division, Department of Conserva-
tion), 1-2; Rusco, North Manitou Island,
43.
172 I. H. Bartlett, "North Manitou
Island's Deer Herd," Michigan Conserva-
tion, September 1944, 10.
l7j Rusco, North Manitou Island, 43.
174 Edgar McKee, "North Manitou
Island 1937-1942," n.d. [ca. 1992],
Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore, Empire, Mich. McKee was
MIA business manager during 1937-
1942.
175 Lundquist, interview.
176 The Turtle Lake Club, the first deer
hunting club in Michigan, "was orga-
nized in 1883. In 1931 the club, which
"was limited to twenty-one members,
controlled over 31,000 acres in
Michigan's northern lower peninsula.
Much of the high status of deer
hunting "was derived from the fact that
white-tail deer populations "were
extremely small throughout the state
during the early decades of the
twentieth century. Once plentiful, the
deer population declined dramatically
due to logging and forest fires, and to
market hunting. The population began
to increase slowly after the state
outlawed practices such as "dogging"
(i.e., hunting with packs of trained
57
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
dogs), limiting the hunting season, and
enacting a "one buck" limit in 1921.
Given the extreme scarcity of white -
tailed deer in Michigan during the
1920s and 1930s, the artificially high
population on North Alanitou Island
certainly must have represented a
sportsman's paradise.
177 Leelanau County Deeds, Liber 69,
427428; Fritz, "History Data Reports,"
89; Rusco, North Manitou Island, 18-19.
178 Rusco, North Manitou Island, 12.
179 Lundquist, interview.
18(1 Rusco, North Manitou Island, 86.
181 Bartlett, North Manitou Island Deer
Herd, 3; Rusco, North Manitou Island,
39-40.
The Angell Foundation
In 1946 Angell and Sherman modified the original 1928 trust
agreement to extend its life and to reflect the new composition of
the Manitou Island Association. The new agreement gave Angell a
controlling 7/10 interest in the trust, with power to deal with real
estate, and management and operation of the properties. 182 Some-
time between 1946 and 1949, Roger Sherman divested his 3/10
interest in the Manitou Island Association. By 1949, Angell owned
ninety-five per cent of the MIA, and Avery Wing of Detroit owned
the remaining five per cent share. That year, Angell created a non-
profit, charitable foundation — the William R. Angell Foundation —
to be the beneficiary of his 19/20 interest in the MIA. The Angell
Foundation was organized at a meeting held on 14 April 1949. Its
purpose was:
To promote and assist in the education, training and
development of young people; to establish, capitalize and
conduct students' revolving loan funds and make there-
from character loans to worthy, needy young people
pursuing or about to pursue regularly offered courses of
study in colleges, universities, business and nurses' training
schools; to assist in the comfort and welfare of men,
women, young people and children, particularly the young,
aged, sick, poor, crippled, handicapped, and underprivi-
leged. 183
The foundation was formally incorporated several months
later, on 29 September, and the first official meeting of its board of
trustees was held on 6 October. Angell, who served as the
organization's president, endowed the foundation with an initial gift
of one thousand dollars. W Craig Keith, who had served under
Angell as Secretary of Continental Motors during the 1930s, was vice-
president, and Angell's personal secretary, Margaret Londergan, was
the foundation's secretary-treasurer. 184 Angell intended the trust to
exist in perpetuity, although he included a provision for its dissolution
by a unanimous vote of the foundation trustees. However, only four
months after its creation, the foundation was confronted with the
problem of disposing of its interest in the MIA when William Angell
unexpectedly died on 25 January 1950, after being struck by a
Detroit city bus. 185
In addition to the 19/20 interest in the Manitou Island
Association, the Angell Foundation's endowment included a farm in
Oakland County, and a building in Muskegon, Michigan. The
foundation board initially considered liquidating its interest in the
Manitou Island Association. According to W Craig Keith, "the
initial board of trustees were [sic] groping with the problem of how
to accomplish the purposes of the Foundation with a major fixed
asset of possible meager return possibilities; how the return might
be increased; what additional investment would be required to that
end; whether or not conversion to a liquid basis was desirable; and
58
North Manitou Island's Settlement History
Figure 2.25. During the 1950s and 1960s the Angell Foundation
increased efforts to marketNorth Manitou Island to sportsmen. In
1965 a trip to the island was the grand prize in the annual archery
and fishing contests sponsored by the National Industrial Recreation
associaiton (NIRA). Pictured from left to rightare Don Neer,
executive director of the NIRA; Andy Lang, 1965 fishing champion,
and Gene Caudill, 1965 archery champion.
management problems operating the island by remote control, etc"
Offers for purchase came from individuals who desired to use the
island as an exclusive resort, much in keeping with the MIA's man-
agement practices, and from persons interested in exploiting the
island's timber resources. Bids came from the Ball family of Muncie,
Indiana, from Continental Motors Corporation, Philco Corporation,
the Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids, and from John Newhall of
Glencoe, Illinois, who once had resided on the island as overseer of
his family's fruit orchards. 186 After considering these offers, however,
the foundation trustees apparently decided to retain their interest in
the MIA, and thereafter took an active role in its management. 187
The Angell Foundation initially continued the orientation of
the MIA's business ventures. The trustees considered harvesting the
island's timber resources, but concluded in 1953 that "it was doubtful
if going in business such as lumbering on the island was feasible
considering the risks and management problems." The board agreed
that "it would be better to have the money placed in some income
producing investments." 188 After 1955, however, the MIA ceased
harvesting cherries. 189 At about the same time, the Foundation trust-
ees reduced the number of AHA employees and closed the island
store. Thereafter the Foundation trustees concentrated their attention
on developing the island's recreation amenities (figure 2.25). After
the MIA lodge was destroyed by fire in 1953, the former U.S. Coast
Guard dwelling was remodeled to serve as a new lodge to accom-
102 Amendment, Trust Agreement
between William R. Angell and Roger
Sherman and the Detroit Trust
Company, 21 January 1946, Arthur Jay
Lacy Papers, Bentley Historical Library,
Ann Arbor, Mich.
183 Trust Instrument, 14 April 1949,
Angell Foundation Collection,
Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore, Empire, Mich.
184 Articles of Incorporation, and
Minute and Record Book of the
WiUiam R. Angell Foundation, Arthur
J. Lacy Papers, Bentley Historical
Library, Ann Arbor, Mich.
185 Rusco, North Manitou Island, 121;
Muskegon Chronicle, n.p., [1950];
Leelanau Enterprise, 26 January 1950.
186 Memorandum, [W] Craig Keith to
[Board of Trustees, William R. Angell
Foundation], 31 December 1976, Angell
Foundation Collection, Sleeping Bear
Dunes National Lakeshore, Empire,
Mich.
107 Ibid. The membership of the Board
of Trustees of the William R. Angell
Foundation and the governing board
of the Manitou Island Association
essentially overlapped, and the two
bodies customarily held their meetings
on the same date. The only individual
outside the Angell Foundation "who
maintained an interest in the Manitou
Island Association, was Avery Wing,
who owned a five percent share. Wing
also held claim to one of the Cottage
Row properties, although he had never
received the deed to his lot from
William Angell. According to W. Craig
Keith, the Angell Foundation board
periodically negotiated with Wing in an
attempt to gain complete control of the
MIA, in a couple of instances offering
59
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
North Manitou Island Assn.
Leland, Michigan.
Phone : Area Code 61 6— ED 4-3962.
r s „»smi«'i»«!>'., l
a
m
^D
ASSOCIATION
Figure 2.26. The Manitou Island
Association logo incorporated imagery
designed to appeal to recreational
sportsmen. During the 1960s and 1970s
the logo appeared on brochures used to
promote North Manitou Island as an ideal
spotfor hunting and fishing. The foundation
primarily marketed the island to
corporations.
him a position as a foundation trustee
if he "would agree to sell his share. Wing
never accepted an offer from the
foundation.
188 Ibid.
189 [Charles Brown], "Preliminary
Report of Chairman of Commission
After Taking Additional Testimony,
Re: North Manitou Island," United
States of America V! Security Trust
Company, et al and Unknown Owners;
Detroit Bank and Trust Company,
Trustee, et al, and Unknown Owners,
U. S. District Court for the Western
District of Michigan, Southern
Division, 18 ]anuary 1983, Angell
Foundation Collection, Sleeping Bear
Dunes National Lakeshore, Empire,
Mich.
190 Rusco, North Manitou Island, 127-
131.
modate hunters and other paying guests. The AHA also remodeled the
coast guard boat house, and rented three Cottage Row houses to
guests. 190 A 1958 article published in the Muskegon Chronicle noted
that
the island's chief activity now centers around its licensed
deer farm, only operation of its kind in Michigan, which
annually attracts sportsmen from throughout the Midwest
who pay well for the privilege of coming to the island
with a deer guaranteed. Exempt from state regulation, the
island deer season usually opens in late October and
closes in late December. Nearly a fourth of the 1,000
animal herd is harvested each year, with hunters permitted
to take deer of either sex, but big bucks are the prime
target. 191
Reversing its earlier decision, the Foundation trustees entered
into a logging contract with the firm of Jurica and Day in 1956 in an
attempt to off-set the huge cost of its deer- feeding program. The
Foundation's goal was to implement a sustained-yield system by
selecting only trees larger than fourteen inches in diameter, and
removing approximately one million board feet per year on a twenty-
year rotation basis. 192 The Foundation also increased its island land
holdings during the late 1950s by purchasing the Maleski farm in
1955, and acquiring the Bournique property over a three-year period
from 1956 to 1959.
The profitability of the MIA's deer hunting business was
impacted by changes to the federal tax codes during the 1950s. Most
of the association's contracts were with executives of major corpo-
rations, who organized hunting excursions to the island as entertain-
ment for clients. The tax code changes limited the extent to which
corporations could deduct such entertainment expenses, with the
result being that "the time of large hunting parties of one corpora-
tion with exclusive use of the facilities was over. The smaller lodge
was shared by groups of different corporations." 193 To make the island
more attractive to sportsmen the MIA stocked the island with
pheasants, Guinea hens and chukar partridge and wild turkeys
between 1961 and 1963. 194 The MIA produced illustrated brochures
to advertise the island's recreational amenities, claiming in one
brochure that "... here, you'll find tilings as they were when the
Indians roamed the land." and "There are 15,000 acres of unspoiled
forest There are abandoned lumber camps and settlements
evoking memories of an earlier day. There are no stores, no bars . . .
there are no movies, and no drive-ins." 195
In an attempt to expand the island's appeal beyond deer
hunters, the MIA promoted Lake Manitou for sport fishing (figure
2.26). The lake's native smallmouth bass were supplemented with
rainbow trout in 1964, 1965, and 1968. 196 A MIA brochure from the
late 1960s described the lake as teeming "with big bass, scrappy
trout and panfish; weedbeds and holes, wild-rice paddies and drop-
60
North Manitou Island's Settlement History
Figure 2.27. Schematic plan of North Manitou Island airport, ca.
early 1960s. During the 1940s through the 1960s, airtravel
played an increasingly important role in the business operations of
the Manitou Island Association, and in the lives of island residents.
After World War II, charter service to the island was available from
Traverse City and F rankfort. The island landing strip represented
a vital link to the mainland. Airplanes delivered fresh food,
packages, and supplies to island residents, a role thatwas
especially crucial during times when boats could notcross the
Manitou Passage. The Manitou Island Association improved the
island's landing facilities during the 1960s, and thereafter
prominently featured a sketch plan of the North Manitou landing
strip in its marketing literature.
NORTH MANITOU ISLAND AIRPORT
ELEVATION: 600 '
UNICOM: 122.8
ON 328* RADIAL OF
TRAVERSE CITY OMNI
Figure 2.28. The airplane era on North Manitou Island may have begun in August 1926
when an aircraft landed in the large agricultural clearing nearNorth Manitou Village. The
airplane carried several Muskegon and Chicago businessmen, including Ross W.J udson,
who then was Presidentof Continental Motors Company. William Angell and RogerSherman
also probably used the fourteen- passenger tri-motorFokker airplane owned by Continental
Motors fortrips to the island. Continental Motors was a leader in using aire raft for business
travel, and developed its own airportatMuskegon in 1926. The company formed an
aeronautical division in 1928, and a subsidiary, Continental Aircraft E ngine Co., in 1929.
offs, fallen timbers and rocky coves." The island accommodated
twenty fishermen or twenty-five hunters at a time 197 A brochure
describing the MIA fishing package included testimonials from
executives and sportsmen representing locales across the country.
Fishermen paid a fee of twenty-five dollars per day, which included
room, board, transportation to and from Lake Manitou, and use a
boat on the lake. 198 Deer hunters in groups of five or more paid $225
each for three days. Individual hunters paid ten dollars extra for the
same package, which included lodging, meals, and guide service and
the AHA guarantee of "a deer for every hunter." 199 To improve
access to the island by the island's privileged clientele, the MIA
expanded and improved the island landing field during the 1960s,
extending the runway to 4,500 feet and erecting an airplane hangar
(figures 2.27 and 2.28). 200
During the 1970s the MIA continued to promote sport
hunting and fishing on the island. The MIA's promotional literature
191 Muskegon Chronicle, 8 October 1958,
n.p.
192 Gordon Charles, "Swiss Family
Manitou," Detroit News Magazine, 23
March 1980, 34-36; 38.
193 Rusco, North NLanitou Island, 131.
194 Gordon Charles, "Swiss Family
Manitou."
Brochure, "You Are Welcome at
North Manitou Island ... A Comfort-
able Wilderness Where Hunting,
Fishing and Nature Are Still as They
Used to Be," ca. late 1960s, MIA
Collection, Sleeping Bear Dunes
National Lakeshore, Empire, Mich.
61
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
196 Gordon Charles, "Swiss Family
Manitou," 34-36; 38; Fritz, "History
Data Report," 35, citing Gordon
Charles newspaper articles.
197 Brochure, "You Are Welcome."
193 Brochure, "The North Manitou
Island Fishing Club Cordially Invites
You to an Island Adventure with
Unusual Angling Opportunities," ca.
1960s, MIA Collection, Sleeping Bear
Dunes National Lakeshore, Empire,
Mich.
199 Brochure, "The North Manitou
Island Hunting Club Cordially Invites
You to a Deer Hunter's Paradise,"
brochure, ca. 1960s, MIA, Sleeping Bear
Dunes National Lakeshore, Empire,
Mich.
20u Rusco, North Manitou Island, 88.
201 Brochure, "Welcome to North
Manitou Island," ca. 1970s, MIA
Collection, Sleeping Bear Dunes
National Lakeshore, Empire, Mich.
202 Gordon Charles, "White Tails of the
Manitous," Kalamazoo Gazette, n.d. (ca.
Winter 1974/75), Betty Kramer
Collection, Leelanau County Historical
Society, Leland, Mich.
2 Blake Forslund to Arlene and Marvin
Fluelling, 19 March 1976, Angell
Foundation Collection, Sleeping Bear
Dunes National Lakeshore, Empire,
Mich.; Hamish Ogilvie, "Michigan's
'Secret' Island, North Manitou,"
Michigan Uving Motor News 60(4): 24-25
(October 1977).
204 Eric A. Bourdo and James A.
Johnson, "Observations and Recom-
mendations Concerning Forest
more profusely extolled the island's natural beauty. "North Manitou
Island has 15,000 acres of natural forest teeming with wildlife in the
unspoiled beauty of early Michigan" claimed one brochure, urging
the reader to "see [the island] in the verdant cool summer or in the
fall when nature splashes the island with vivid golds, reds and
ochres." 201 By the mid-1970s the cost of a three-day deer hunt had
risen to $345. The MIA permitted only 15 hunters, and a total of no
more than 20 guests on the island at any one time, significantly
fewer than the 20-25 sportsmen that were accommodated during the
1960s. 202 In 1976, the MIA raised its deer hunting rate to $400 to
cover increased expenses. The association also offered, for the first
time, a two-day spring turkey hunting package for $175, which
included a two-turkey guarantee. The fisherman's package included
room and meals, transportation to Lake Manitou, and use of a
fishing boat for $50 per day 203
While its marketing strategy focused on North Manitou's
natural beauty, the MIA continued the program of timber harvesting
on the island, which had commenced in 1956. In 1972 the AHA
entered into a five-year agreement with the Lake Michigan Hard-
wood Company for selective cutting of timber on the island. Ac-
cording to the agreement, the minimum annual harvest was one
million board-feet, while the maximum was set at one-and-a-half
million board-feet. During the mid-1970s the MIA explored the
possibility of initiating experimental cuttings on the island in coop-
eration with foresters from Michigan Technological University
(MTU). The MTU researchers apparently visited the island and
provided the MIA with a report outlining management recommenda-
tions; however, it appears as though no further research was done
following this initial work. 204 The MIA protected the aesthetic
appearance of the island by confining loggers to areas not immedi-
ately adjacent to roads and trails. 205 The island's forests thus pro-
vided the AHA with two marketable resources — the "unspoiled
beauty of early Michigan," and the more tangible commodity of
timber. In fact, the income generated from timber harvesting sub-
stantially subsidized the AlIA's deer hunting operation. 206 Combined,
the AlIA's deer hunting and forestry ventures were modestly profit-
able: other than 1975, gross revenues generated by these activities
"more than covered taxes and expenses." 207 The Angell Foundation
used its AHA profits to award small grants to colleges.
Proposed Dunes Park
Although the Angell Foundation succeeded in obtaining a reasonable
return on its AHA investments, its board of trustees remained some-
what ambivalent about the organization's continued involvement in
the business. The board routinely considered purchase offers for its
share of the AHA, and took a "keen interest" in a 1962 proposal to
include the island in "a proposed dunes national park." 208 Although
early plans for Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore omitted the
island, the final proposal included both North and South Alanitou
62
North Manitou Island's Settlement History
islands within the national lakeshore boundaries. The legislation
enacted by Congress on 21 October 1970, authorized the creation
of a 71,000-acre national park preserve along the northeastern
shore of Lake Michigan, encompassing
. . . certain outstanding natural features, including forests,
beaches, dune formations, and ancient glacial phenom-
ena . . . along the mainland shore of Lake Michigan and
on certain nearby islands in Benzie and Leelanau Coun-
ties, Michigan ... 209
The National Park Service's land acquisition program
initially targeted lands on the Michigan mainland. After acquiring
most of the lands within the authorized mainland boundary and
South Manitou Island, the National Park Service (NPS) offered the
Angell Foundation $4.5 million for North Manitou Island in 1977.
The foundation board refused this offer, contending that the island
was worth more than three times the NPS appraisal. The matter was
thereafter referred to federal courts, with hearings in the condemna-
tion case beginning in 1978. 210 While the NPS appraisal was based
on the island's value for recreational use, the Angell Foundation
derived its valuation from the estimated worth of the island's
natural resources. The foundation board investigated the potential
profitability of sand and gravel mining, concocting an elaborate
proposal for creating a harbor at the southern end of the island in
conjunction with a huge mining operation. The board also consid-
ered the profit to be generated from more intensive exploitation of
the island's timber resources, and even hired a team of nuclear
engineers to assess the island's potential as a nuclear power station.
The Angell Foundation's final appraisal was based on a scheme for
developing the island into a modern facility for producing and
processing cherries. After considering testimony from expert wit-
nesses in the cherry industry, a federal judge set the value of the
island at just over $11 million in 1983. The National Park Service
took possession of the island the following year.
The National Park Era
The Angell Foundation began preparing for National Park Service
take-over of the island during the late 1970s. The MIA held its final
deer hunt, which yielded just over 500 animals, during the 1977-78
season in an attempt to reduce the island herd to roughly 150 animals.
The MIA also discontinued supplemental feeding of the deer herd
after the 1977-78 season. 211 During autumn 1979, the MIA moved the
caretaker and his wife from the island, and sold most of the equip-
ment and furnishings on the island. 212 The discontinuance of both
hunting and the supplemental feeding program had a tremendous
impact on North Manitou's natural systems. The island deer popula-
tion soared, severely stressing the island's native plant communities.
The groundlayer and understory vegetation of the island's forests
were eliminated almost completely by the voracious deer herd,
which suffered mass starvation during the winter and spring seasons.
Management on North Manitou
Island," report to the Angell Founda-
tion (Houghton, Mich.: Michigan
Technological University (MTU), 5
January 5, 1976); James A. Johnson to
William Davis, Angell Foundation
Collection, Sleeping Bear Dunes
National Lakeshore, Empire, Mich.
205 Fritz , "History Data Report," 35.
206 Gordon Charles, "White Tails of the
Manitous;" Hamish Ogilvie,
"Michigan's 'Secret' Island," 24-25.
207 E. R. Hames, "Program of Gifts,"
30 November 1976, Angell Founda-
tion Collection, Sleeping Bear Dunes
National Lakeshore, Empire, Mich.
63
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
208 Memorandum, [W] Craig Keith to
[Board of Trustees, William R. Angell
Foundation], 31 December 1976.
209 Sleeping Bear Dunes, U.S. Code, vol. 4,
sec. 460x (1970).
210 Dale W. Rhoades to E. R. Hames, W.
H. Davis, Blake Forslund, W. M.
Skillman, C. H. Higgins and Avery
Wing, 29 August 1977, Angell
Foundation Collection, Sleeping Bear
Dunes National Lakeshore, Empire,
Mich.
211 McCullough, Dale R, and David J.
Case, "The White-tailed Deer of
North Manitou Island, Michigan,"
(Empire, Mich.: Sleeping Bear Dunes
National Lakeshore, 13 August 1982),
13; Gordon Charles, "Swiss Family
Manitou."
212 Rusco, "Living on the Island," 22.
213 Allen Campbell, "N. Manitou Island
Has a 'Deer Problem,'" Leelanau
Enterprise, 22 January 1981, 8; Allen
Campbell, "80% of North Manitou's
Deer Died Last Winter," Leelanau
Enterprise, 5 August 1982, 1.
214 McCullough and Case, "White -tailed
Deer of North Manitou," 167-168.
215 Hazlett and Vande Kopple, Terrestrial
Vegetation, 59.
216 U.S. Department of the Interior,
National Park Service, "Sleeping Bear
Dunes National Lakeshore, Statement
for Management," (Empire, Mich:
Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore, April 1993), 41; U.S.
Department of the Interior, National
Park Service, "Development Concept
Plan/Interpretive Prospectus, North
Manitou Island, Sleeping Bear Dunes
National Lakeshore, Michigan,"
(Empire, Mich: Sleeping Bear Dunes
National Lakeshore, November 1987),
24-26.
217 National Park Service, "Development
Concept Plan/Interpretive Prospectus,"
Local newspapers reported the plight of the North Manitou Island
deer, generating negative publicity for both the National Park
Service and the Angell Foundation. 213
While federal courts debated the fair market value of the
island, the National Park Service hired a team of wildlife researchers
to study the white-tailed deer problem. The consultants' report,
completed in 1982, concluded that the island's native plant and
animal communities would recover only if the deer population was
reduced immediately and thereafter maintained for several years at
levels of 200-300 animals. To achieve this end, the researchers
recommended that the NPS coordinate public deer hunts on an
annual basis. 214 The following year, plant ecologists studying the
island's vegetation reached a similar conclusion, advising that "a
large scale reduction in the deer population, if not their total re-
moval from the island, should be a top priority if the declining
quality of the vegetation is to be abated and later reversed." 215 The
first NPS-sponsored deer hunt on North Manitou Island occurred
during the late autumn of 1984, the year that the agency officially
gained control of the property.
Following the implementation of an annual deer hunt, and
other natural resource management measures undertaken by the
National Park Service, the condition of North Manitou Island's plant
and wildlife habitats has improved. NPS management policies have
emphasized protecting the island's outstanding natural features and
significant plant and wildlife habitats from adverse human impacts,
while also encouraging regeneration of North Manitou's forest and
dune vegetation. 216 The island provides habitat for several rare plant
species, including Pitcher's thistle {Cirsium pitched), a federally-listed
endangered species, and two State of Michigan threatened species:
Pumpelly's brome grass (Bromus pumpellianus) , and American chestnut
{Castenea dentatd). 211 In addition to these threatened plant species,
two bird species on the federal list of endangered species — piping
plover and bald eagle — nest on the island. 218
Among North Manitou's most important and fragile habitats
are its shoreline and perched dunes, the "Pot Holes," and its wet-
lands (figure 1.3). The flora of the island's black ash swamp com-
munities, which extend southward from Lake Manitou, is extremely
diverse, including several species found nowhere else on the
Manitou islands. The area around Tamarack provides habitat for a
few bog species that likewise are unique to North Manitou Island. 219
The island is certainly one of the best places within the Sleeping
Bear Dunes region for visitors to experience the diversity and beauty
of nature. Yet, despite the resilience and apparent integrity of its
natural systems, the island landscape remains extensively, if not
permanently, altered by the accumulated effects of human
habitation.The aesthetic character and distribution of the island's
habitat types — dunes, woodland, and clearings — are most clearly a
cultural artifacts (figure 2.29).
64
North Manitou Island's Settlement History
farmstead site
with structures / ruins
farmstead sit
with structures ,
ruins
KEY
agricultural clearing = F J
dunes / beach =
woodland =
farmstead site
with structures /
ruins
North
=1=
1
mile
North Manitou Island
Vegetation Cover
FIGURE 2.29
Drawing by Eric MacDonald and Katie Franks
65
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 2.30. Stems of raspberries and
sugar maple seedlings become entwined in
the remains of an abandoned automobile
on North Manitou Island, a metaphorforthe
ways in which humanity and the non-
human world are interwoven.
Environmental Legacy of Euro-American Habitation
on North Manitou Island
The landscapes of North Manitou Island, even those places that are
remote from the major nodes of settlement, bear the imprint of past
human activities, aspirations, and beliefs. Clues to the island's
history are at times overt, such as the old railroad grade that traces
an arc through the forests in the northwestern portion of the island.
In other instances the evidence is as remarkably, wonderfully subtle,
as the feathery, pink tufts of spotted knapweed and the lacy blooms
of wild carrot nodding in the breeze. It is possible to read narratives
of both progress and declension in such a landscape. In clearing vast
swaths of virgin hardwood forests during the mid-nineteenth cen-
tury, crews of wood choppers permanently altered a complex
ecosystem. Contemporary observers, Margaret Fuller among them,
certainly were aware of the magnitude of the destruction, yet they
nonetheless viewed it as a step in the inevitable, on-going process
of transforming the American wilderness into a suitable setting for
human civilization.
Following the wood choppers, Euro-American settlers
claimed patches of the North Manitou Island landscape as their
own, inserting human-dependent biotic systems based on agriculture
and animal husbandry amidst the fragmented, native forest ecosys-
tems. The settlers integrated new, humanized plants and animals
into the landscape, and translocated "wild" species from other parts
of the continent. It is, perhaps, such introductions that most para-
66
North Manitou Island's Settlement History
Figure 2.31. Trail through recent-growth
foreston North Manitou Island, 1995.
%M.
doxically blur traditional distinctions between nature and culture. A
hybridized variety of sweet cherry or a purebred Angus steer is
readily recognized as a product of both human culture and non-
human nature. However, a "wild" deer, or a raccoon, or an Ameri-
can chestnut tree in a landscape that did not previously accommo-
date them, is a less obvious manifestation of the manipulative
power of humankind.
Today, visitors to North Manitou Island experience nature in
a setting that undeniably has been shaped by its unique history — a
landscape that continues to evolve in accord with both human
values and processes of non-human nature (figure 2.30). The
immense, verdant hardwood forests that blanket most of the island
landscape bear only a superficial resemblance to the "enormous
growth of trees" that so impressed William Cullen Bryant and other
visitors to North Manitou a century and a half ago. Although
northern hardwoods today comprise slightly more than eighty per
cent of the island's vegetative cover, years of extensive timber
harvesting and agriculture have cumulatively altered the aesthetic
quality and species composition of the island's forests (figures 2.29
and 2.31). In many locales, logging repeatedly "set back" the course
of ecological succession on the island. The timber harvesting
practices of Smith & Hull and Peter Stormer, for example, altered
the species composition of vast areas of island forests, creating
small gaps and openings in the forest canopy. Such gaps conse-
quently increased the amount of "edge" habitat (i.e., border areas
between forest and open communities) on the island. In these sunny
openings, plant species such as wild raspberries proliferated, as did
edge-habitat wildlife species such as rabbits. Such unintended side-
effects of logging greatly benefited many island residents, who
utilized wild foods to supplement their diets. 220 Non-human nature
9. American chestnut trees are native
67
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
only to Michigan's southern-most
counties. North Manitou Island's grove
of chestnut trees probably "was planted
by homesteader Frederic Beuham, who
owned the site during the late 1800s.
Today, the trees are threatened by a
parasitic organism, TLndothia parasitica,
"which "was introduced into North
America from Asia shortly after 1900 See
Hazlett and Vande Kopple, Terrestrial
Vegetation, 57; Norman F. Smith,
Michigan Trees Worth Knotting, Rev., 5th
ed. (Lansing: TwoPeninsula Press/
Michigan Department of Natural
Resources, 1978), 55.
21S National Park Service, "Development
Concept Plan/Interpretive Prospectus,"
7,9.
219 Hazlett and Vande Kopple,
Terrestrial Vegetation, 30, 41.
and human culture have interacted on North Manitou Island in
intricate, diverse, and unexpected ways.
Timber extraction, maritime, agricultural, and recreational
activities all left their mark on the land. Evidence of past logging
activities is still fresh in the North Manitou landscape, revealed in
earthen depressions and scattered artifacts at former logging camps,
the relict railroad grade of the Smith & Hull operation, and numer-
ous, large stumps scattered throughout the forests. Most of the
hardwood stands on North Manitou are either second- or third-
growth timber. 221 NPS natural resources consultants McCullough and
Case estimated that thirty percent of the island's hardwood forest {i.e.,
approximately twenty-five per cent of the island) had been logged
between 1962 and the time of their study in 1982. 222 The numerous,
large eastern hemlock trees noted by federal land surveyor Orange
Risdon in 1847, and identified by Harry Nichols Whitford as a prime
component of the climax northern hardwoods forest, have all but
disappeared so that today this species is a relatively minor constitu-
ent of the island's forest communities. Currently, the dominant tree
species on the island are American beech, and sugar maple. Black
cherry (Pmnus serotina) — a species that was mentioned only infre-
quently in Risdon's notes — also is abundant. 223 The relative abundance
of black cherry and other early successional, or "gap phase," species
such as paper birch, yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis) , and big-tooth
aspen, indicate the youthfulness of much of the North Manitou's
forested landscapes.
Although it is difficult to assess the ecological effect of the
large numbers of cattle and hogs that roamed North Manitou Island
for several decades during the nineteenth and early twentieth centu-
ries, considerably more is known about the impact that the intro-
duced deer herd has had on the island landscape. Established on the
island during the late 1920s, the deer population has altered the
ecology all of the island's major terrestrial ecosystems — forests,
open fields, and dunes. A 1983 study concluded that deer apparently
had eliminated sugar maple and hemlock saplings from the forest
understory and had virtually extirpated 22 species from the island
forest communities, including two species — Taxus canadensis and
Mitchella repens — which in 1901 were described as being "very
abundant." 224
Deer have eliminated most understory herbs and shrubs, and
trimmed young trees of their lower branches, giving the forests an
open, park-like appearance. The white -tailed deer population also
has retarded the typical pattern of succession in abandoned farm
fields by eliminating young shrubs and tree saplings. Hazlett and
Vande Kopple estimated that the appearance of old fields on North
Manitou is essentially "the same as it was almost fifty years ago." 225
In addition, seven dune species are presumed to be absent from the
island due to over-browsing by deer. The extensive dune "heaths"
consisting of juniperus and Arctostaphylos in association with sand
68
North Manitou Island's Settlement History
cherry (Prunus pumild) , which were described by Henry Cowles in
1899, have disappeared. 226 In total, deer have eliminated or greatly
reduced the populations of at least thirty-three common, native
species on North Manitou Island; the island flora today includes
nearly twenty-five per cent fewer native species than that of neigh-
boring South Manitou Island. 227 Deer also altered the island's wildlife
populations. During the 1960s snowshoe hare and foxes disappeared
from the island, probably because deer eliminated the underbrush
and herbaceous plants upon which the hare depended. 228
Although certainly extensive, the effects of human habita-
tion on North Manitou Island's natural system have not been en-
tirely subtractive. Euro-American settlers brought with them both
domesticated and "wild" animal and plant species, and thereby
increased the diversity of lifeforms on the island. Most of these
alien plant and animal species have not persisted in the landscape
since the end of agricultural activities on the island. However, many
of the remaining species appear to be well-established constituents
of the island's current ecosystems. In 1983, Hazlett and Vande
Kopple documented 31 non-native plants species on the North
Manitou (see Appendix G). These included plants that formerly
were cultivated for food, such as Welsh onion, chives, asparagus,
apple, and butternut, as well as ornamental plants like lily-of-the-
valley, grape hyacinth, Norway maple, lilac, and flowering quince. In
addition to these intentionally-introduced species, several exotic,
"weed" species have become firmly established in the island land-
scape, including sour dock (Rumex crispus), and Queen Anne's lace,
or wild carrot (Duacus carotd) . 229 Spotted knapweed (Centauria
maculosa), a Eurasian species that is particularly abundant in open
fields, is believed to have been introduced into the United States
during the 1890s as a contaminant in shipments of European alfalfa
seed. 230 In all, Hazlett and Vande Kopple estimated that nearly 28
per cent of the island's flora consisted of non-native species. 231
The extent to which nature and culture were blurred in terms
of human perception was most evident during the 1920s and 1930s
when the Manitou Island Association attempted to improve upon
nature by stocking the island's forests with wild game, and planting
Lake Manitou with fish. As described in the association's marketing
literature of the 1960s and 1970s, the resulting landscape seemed
more "natural" or "wild" than ever before. For more than forty years,
sportsmen ventured to the island to avail themselves of nature's
stupendous bounty, seemingly oblivious that their sport was depen-
dent upon a wholly humanized ecosystem. Similarly, island residents
during the 1920s and 1930s supplemented their diets by gathering
native blackberries and hunting wild rabbits, apparently not cogni-
zant that the astonishing abundance of these species, too, was as
much a product of human activities as it was a gift of nature.
As this account of human habitation and environmental
manipulation on North Manitou Island attests, wild, non-human
220 Furst, My Point of View, 11.
221 Hazlett and Vande Kopple,
Terrestrial Vegetation, 23.
222 McCullough and Case, "White-
tailed Deer of North Manitou," 5.
223 Hazlett and Vande Kopple, Terrestrial
Vegetation, 23; McCullough and Case,
"White -tailed Deer of North Manitou,"
5-6; Risdon, survey notes; Whitford,
"Genetic Development of the Forests";
Hazlett and Vande Kopple, op. at.,
defined six sub-types of northern
hardwood forest on North Manitou
Island: (1) Beech-AIaple -Yellow Birch-
Cherry; (2) Beech; (3) Maple; (4) Beech-
Maple -Aspen; (5) Beech-Maple -Yellow
Birch-Cherry-Aspen-Ash, and (6) Oak.
224 Hazlett and Vande Kopple, Terrestrial
Vegetation, 44.
69
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 2.32. This view of Tamarack
Lake was captured sometime during the
early 1900s by John Newhall of one of
his associates. During the 1940s the
lake was a popular 'fragging" destination
for Jean (Londergan) Lundquist,
daughter of William Angell's executive
secretary, Margaret Londergan.
nature has undeniably placed limitations on human activities. At the
same time is has profoundly inspired poets, recreationists, scientists,
and professional resource managers. For example, while promoting
timber harvesting on their island land, the Newhalls and their
summer guests took pleasure drives along the island's densely
wooded trails, camped among the trees in tents and primitive
shacks, bathed and canoed in Lake Manitou, and picnicked along
the shores of Lake Michigan. The photograph scrapbooks of John
Newhall, which now reside at the Chicago Maritime Society, contain
numerous views of recreational activities. However, they also
contain various composed depictions of "nature" on the island,
revealing the photographer's affinity for natural beauty as expressed
in the island's forests, lakes, and dunes (figure 2.3 1). 232 William
Angell likewise has been described as a man who loved "nature,"
one who "was fond of every tree and bush." While he actively
manipulated the island's wildlife populations, Angell also prohibited
the use of motorized equipment on Lake Manitou in order to
preserve the natural quietude of the setting 233 The history of a
landscape like North Manitou Island reveals the extent to which
human culture and non-human culture are intertwined, and the
limitations that our cultural traditions place on our understanding of
both.
225 Hazlett and Vande Kopple,
Terrestrial Vegetation, 46.
226 Hazlett and Vande Kopple,
Terrestrial Vegetation, 44, 46.
^"Hazlett and Vande Kopple,
Terrestrial Vegetation, 45.
Cultivating a Comfortable Wilderness
Chapter Three
Cultivating a
Comfortable
Wilderness
In recounting the history of agricultural practices in the Sleeping
Bear Dunes region, Haswell and Alanen employ the phases of techno-
logical development proposed by Lewis Mumford in his seminal text,
Technics and Civilisation. 1 Mumford was concerned with the historical
processes by which Western civilization had accommodated machines.
He identified three successive waves of mechanization, beginning
with the development of the tool, the intermediary machine-tool, and,
finally, the emergence of the machine. Tools resulted from manipula-
tion of natural elements and depended upon the skill of the worker.
In contrast, machines were characterized by automatic action and
relied upon external power sources. Accompanying each wave of
mechanization were technological changes related to specific means
of generating and utilizing energy, special types of workers, and
distinct modes of production. 2
Mumford divided the process by which Western culture
assimilated the machine into three historical phases: eotechnic,
pakotechnic, and neotechnic. In Mumford's scheme, the era preceding the
eotechnic phase set the stage for the later development of machine
technology. During this "pre -machine" era, "the dominant ways of
life were the outcome of agriculture, and the religion and science of
the day." Extractive industries such as timber cutting, quarrying and
mining were of prime importance. 3 The subsequent eotechnic phase
was a "period of preparation" during which "all of the key discover-
ies facilitating mechanization were either invented or foreshadowed."
The principal inanimate power sources were water and wood. Tech-
nology during the eotechnic phase was based on handicraft, and
1 Susan Olson Haswell and Arnold R.
Alanen, A Garden Apart: An Agricul-
tural and Settlement History of Michigan 's
Sleeping Hear Dunes "National Takeshore
Region (Omaha: Midwest Regional
Office, National Park Service; Lansing:
State Historic Preservation Office,
Michigan Bureau of History, 1994);
Lewis Mumford, Technics and Civilisa-
tion (New York: Harcourt, Brace and
Company, 1934).
2 Mumford, Technics and Civilisation, 65-
138.
3 Ibid., 64.
71
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
4 Ibid, 109.
5 Ibid., 151-211.
6 Ibid, 212.
7 Jfc/., 212-267.
S J&/.,109.
9 Jacques Ellul, The Technological Society,
trans. John Wilkinson (New York:
Alfred A. Knopf, 1964). Originally
published in French in 1954 as Ta
Technique ou I'enjeu du siecle by Max
Leclerc et C.
Bertrand Gille, ed., The History of
Techniques, vol. 1, Techniques and
Civilisation (Montreux, Switzerland:
Gordon and Breach Science Publish-
ers, 1986). Originally published in
French in 1978 as Histoire des Techniques
I'Entyclope'die de la Ple'iade by Editions
Gallimard.
both human economy and society were closely connected with
agriculture. 4
Mumford's paleotechnic phase roughly corresponded with
the industrial revolution, during which external forces of nature
were harnessed, and materials, capital and labor were consolidated
and systematized. Use of human power diminished substantially,
and coal became the predominant source of mechanical power. 5 In
Mumford's view the most recent phase, the neotechnic, could not be
defined as a period, but was, rather, a "physical-social complex." 6
The neotechnic phase was characterized by the preeminence of
science in driving technological change. The application of scien-
tific knowledge to technology fueled the development and use of
synthetic compounds and materials, more rigid managerial protocols
in production, automatism in operation, and the promulgation of
completely standardized goods. Neotechnic technology relied on a
new form of power: electricity. Neotechnic culture was preoccupied
with power, mobility, and communication. 7 The eotechnic,
paleotechnic, and neotechnic phases were sequential, yet they were
somewhat indistinct temporally. Mumford characterized the phases
as "successive but over-lapping and interpenetrating" 8 In Mumford's
view, contemporary mechanical civilization was "the sum total" of
all the phases.
Mumford's model is based on an analysis of the history of
European culture, particularly that of England and Western Europe,
and it applies to human industry in general, not just to agriculture.
His phases are defined by dominant techniques that exerted a com-
manding influence over techniques. Thus, Mumford's phases do not
deal so much with technical systems, but do constitute a workable, if
somewhat vaguely defined, chronology of technological development.
Other historians have grappled with the task of providing a more
refined analysis of technological development, often by attempting to
incorporate more elements and multiple analytical perspectives. For
example, the French social philosopher Jacques Ellul's The Technological
Society, published twenty years after Mumford's Technics and Cuili^ation,
examined the history of techniques from the perspectives of econom-
ics, politics, and sociology. Ellul claimed to be concerned primarily
with presenting an accurate account of fact without causal explana-
tion. Nevertheless, in The Technological Society 'Ellul essentially was
concerned with the erosion of moral values, and the economic and
political consequences of a society dominated by technicians. 9
A more recent, significant attempt at providing a more refined
analysis of the history of techniques is Bertrand Gille's two-volume
The History of Techniques. As described by Gille, the historical aspect
of this project attempted to "avoid too many divisions" and "to
reintegrate each history of techniques into a larger historical group-
ing, which could itself be easily linked to economic or demographic
history and the history of science or ideas, and finally also factual
history . . ." 10 Gille's work certainly is the most comprehensive recent
72
Cultivating a Comfortable Wilderness
attempt to define historic "technical systems," encompassing a
chronology of technical development that spans from Australopith-
ecine pebble tools to the "transmission of thought" via computers.
Yet, like Mumford's phases, Gille's systems remain somewhat
vaguely and arbitrarily defined chronologically, and the aspects
which link them are often obscure.
Although formulated more than six decades ago, Mumford's
simple three-phase chronology still serves as a useful heuristic for
considering the changing nature of agricultural technologies during
various times in the past. Mumford correlated the eotechnic phase,
which occurred during 1000 - 1750 A.D. in Europe, with pre-1850
society and culture in the United States. He speculated that the
paleotechnic phase emerged in the United States after circa 1850, and
that it reached its peak around the beginning of the twentieth century.
By 1910 the neotechnic phase was evident in both Europe and
America, where "a definite counter-march against paleotechnic
methods began in industry itself." 11
In adapting Mumford's scheme to the history of agricultural
practices in the Sleeping Bear Dunes Region, Haswell and Alanen
applied the term "pre-technic" to the subsistence agriculture prac-
ticed by aboriginal peoples during ca. 1000 - 1840 A.D. 12 Euro-
American settlers introduced eotechnic practices, circa 1840 -
1860s. Although still primarily a subsistence strategy, the eotechnic
agriculture of the settlers utilized tools such as metal plowshares
and draft animals. During the paleotechnic phase, which began
during the 1860s, agriculture was "extensive, rather than intensive,
in nature" and was undertaken not solely for subsistence, but to
yield "maximum profits with minimum effort;" paleotechnic produc-
tion strategies emphasized "cash crops." 13 Haswell and Alanen
associate the neotechnic phase, which arrived in the national lakeshore
region in 1939 when the Cherryland Rural Electrification Association
was organized, with the emergence of "scientific" agriculture. This
phase was characterized by increasing reliance on external energy
sources, "accelerated mechanization of agriculture," and "a more
rational approach to land use." Neotechnic agricultural production
was further integrated with, and dependent upon, national and inter-
national markets. 14
The chronology described by Haswell and Alanen is consis-
tent with the approach of Dandekar and Schoof, whose typology of
Michigan farms correlates physical form with the historical develop-
ment of agriculture. In Dandekar and Schoof's assessment, the
influence of ethnicity on building forms and farmstead layout
gradually gave way to economic, technical and functional consider-
ations. They proposed five distinctive farm types related to markets
and modes of production. Farm types differed relative to several
factors: the extent of the market for which they produced; the
agricultural commodities produced and the organizational structure
of the farm enterprise; the mode of production; and the extent of
11 Mumford, Technics and Civilisation,
111, 151-155, 214.
12 Haswell and Alanen's use of the
term "pre-technic" should not be
construed to imply that aboriginal
peoples lacked technology. Rather, the
term suggests that most of the tools
used for agriculture during this period
were fashioned directly from elemental
resources (e.g., stone, "wood, metal,
bone, etc.), and inspired by "natural"
prototypes. In the Sleeping Bear Dunes
region, more complex tool manufacture,
as exemplified by Native American
ceramics and metallurgy during the
Woodland and Historic Contact
periods, "would have approached
Mumford's "eotechnic" phase. The
agricultural practices of the Woodland
and Historic Contact periods mightbe
considered transitional between "pre-
technic" and eotechnic agriculture. As
defined by Haswell and Alanen, the full
arrival of the eotechnic phase in the
Sleeping Bear Dunes region is marked
by the use of simple, industrially
produced tools (e.g., metal plowshares),
and limited marketing of surplus
agricultural commodities. See Haswell
and Alanen, Garden Apart, 65.
13 Haswell and Alanen, Garden Apart, 65-
66.
'Ibid., 66.
73
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
15 Hemalata C. Dandekar and Daniel F.
Schoof, "Michigan Farms and Farm
Buildings: 150 Years of Transforma-
tion," Inland Architect 32(l):61-67
(1988).
16 Charles E. Cleland, "A Preliminary
Report on the Prehistoric Resources of
North Manitou Island," (Detroit:
William R Angel Foundation, 1967), 11.
17 William A. Lovis, Robert Mainfort,
and Vergil E. Noble "An Archaeologi-
cal Inventory and Evaluation of the
Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore, Leelanau and Benzie
Counties, Michigan" (National Park
Service, 1976), 91.
18 Cleland, "Preliminary Report," 10-
11. Cleland states that the canoe "was
"probably of Indian manufacture," but
adds that it could have been produced
by "early European settlers or
lumbermen."
19 See Appendix B for a more detailed
discussion of potential human impacts
on prehistoric vegetation, and a list of
present-day floral elements of North
Manitou Island that may have been
utilized by aboriginal populations.
mechanization. Although the array of types also was delimited
chronologically, the Michigan farms studied by Dandekar and
Schoof rarely fit exclusively within one pure phase or type. Rather,
most farms underwent a process of continual transformation,
although change sometimes occurred very slowly. At any given time,
farms that exemplified a production and marketing pattern typical
of an earlier period often remained viable, coexisting with later
types. 15
Prehistoric Resource Exploitation and Pre-technic
Agriculture
Pre-technic agricultural practices probably never were prevalent on
North Manitou Island. Before the arrival of Euro-American settlers,
the native inhabitants of the Sleeping Bear Dunes area most likely
used the island primarily as a hunting and fishing ground and, per-
haps, for ceremonial purposes. Archaeological data indicate that the
island was occupied by aboriginal peoples by at least 1000 BC, and
again between AD 1000 and the time of contact with Europeans (ca.
1630-1650). The clustering of known archaeological sites on North
Manitou Island suggests that prehistoric occupation was concentrated
along the eastern shore of the island. 16 One of the sites, 20LU38, was
relatively substantial in size, suggesting that it may have been occu-
pied by a larger group over a longer period of time, or that it may
represent the accretional occupations of smaller groups. 17 The sites
indicate that the resources of North Manitou Island may have been
utilized more intensively than would otherwise be expected of island
habitats in general. The reason for this is unclear, as it is likely that
island habitats contained few, if any, floral or faunal elements that
would have been less abundant or unavailable on the mainland.
Faunal resources that Late Archaic and Woodland peoples
may have obtained on North Manitou Island include small mammals
such as squirrel, hare, and perhaps beaver and muskrat. Other animals,
such as black bear, white -tailed deer, and moose, probably were
hunted on the mainland, but most likely were not available on the
island. None of these species inhabited the island at the time of
Euro-American settlement (ca. 1830). In addition to small mammals,
passenger pigeons, and various water birds and their eggs may have
been available on the island during short seasonal intervals. Aborigi-
nal peoples may have used sheltered shoreline sites on the island as
fishing camps. A severely deteriorated dugout canoe that was recov-
ered in 1966 from Lake Manitou suggests that the island's inland lake
may have been utilized as a source for fish, turtles, or frogs. 18
Archaeological evidence collected from the mainland indicates
that the Late Archaic and Late Woodland inhabitants of the lakeshore
region collected and utilized wild plants, although it is not clear
whether such activity also occurred on the islands. 19 It seems unlikely
that prehistoric people engaged in large-scale manipulation of the
environment on North Manitou. Nonetheless, prehistoric occupation
74
Cultivating a Comfortable Wilderness
of the North Manitou may have impacted the island's native plant
communities. The most likely influence is the possible introduction
or dispersal of native weedy species. In any event, these impacts
would have been incidental, rather than deliberate.
Early Euro-American Settlement and Agriculture
The impact of European and Euro-American immigrants on the
North Manitou Island landscape was more deliberate and extensive.
By the mid-1840s crews of wood choppers were diligently felling the
island's hardwood forests. Though undocumented, the first farms on
the island certainly consisted of small, subsistence plots that were
cultivated by these men. A few subsistence gardeners may have traded
island-grown food with other members of the local population, but
most probably did not produce food or fiber commodities for export
to external markets. This pattern of small-scale, subsistence agricul-
ture probably persisted through the 1850s, although by 1860 there was
at least one large-scale farming operation on the island.
The 1860 federal population census counted 270 inhabitants
on North Manitou Island, ten of whom were farmers: Carl Botohaen,
Frederick Crofs, John Dalton, Bobos Trumel, Arney Christopher,
Stephen Bower (?), Charles L?, George Sits, Christopher Curts, and
John Matlanch (?), who reported his occupation as both farmer and
fisherman. North Manitou's farmers had emigrated to the island from
Hanover, Prussia, Hamburg, Norway, Denmark, New York, and
Pennsylvania. In addition, there were seven farm laborers on the
island, all of whom resided in the dwelling of farmer Stephen
Bower. 20 Unfortunately, the 1860 manuscript schedules record only
the commodities produced by the farm of Nicholas Pickard, who was
not residing on the island in 1860. The scale of Pickard's farm was
atypical of the Sleeping Bear Dunes region, and certainly also of the
island. It comprised 200 acres of improved land, and 200 acres of
woodland, all of which was valued at $5,000. He owned 6 horses, 7
milch [milk] cows, 24 oxen, 20 other cattle, 40 sheep, and 5 swine.
During the previous year, Pickard's farm produced 200 bushels of
wheat, 200 bushels of corn, 1,500 bushels of oats, and 800 bushels of
potatoes. Pickard's sheep furnished 50 pounds of wool, and with the
milk from his dairy herd he produced 300 pounds of butter. 21 The
primary market for Pickard's farm most likely was the large crew of
wood choppers that served as the workforce for his lucrative wood
cutting operation. However, it seems reasonable to propose that
Pickard may have taken advantage of the island's function as a Great
Lakes fueling station to market commodities such as wool and butter
to distant urban markets. Thus, Pickard's farm may represent a signifi-
cant large-scale, commercial agricultural operation in a region and era
where small-scale, subsistence {i.e., pre-technic) agriculture was the
norm.
Haswell and Alanen note that farms on North Manitou and
South Manitou islands had larger amounts of improved acreage than
20 U.S. Census Office, "Eighth [1860]
Census of the United States — Popula-
tion," microfilm copy of manuscript
schedules, Library of Michigan, Lansing;
U S. Census Office, "Eighth [1860]
Census of the United States — Schedule
4, Productions of Agriculture,"
microfilm copy of manuscript sched-
ules, State Archives of Michigan,
Lansing; Haswell and Alanen, Garden
Apart, 36. Some of the entries on the
copies of the manuscript schedules at
the Library of Michigan are not legible.
Little is known about these early North
Manitou agriculturists, although an
unidentified secondary source in the
Kramer Collection of the Leelanau
County Historical Society, Leland, states
that John Dalton arrived on North
Manitou Island in 1848. According to
this source, Dalton married Amanda
Dexter, the daughter of Moses H.
Dexter, "who operated a blacksmith
business on the island during the mid-
1850s.
21 U S. Census Office, "Eighth [1860]
Census of the United States — Schedule
4, Productions of Agriculture." The
data reported in the 1 860 manuscript
schedules for the federal census of
agriculture and those published by the
state of Michigan do not agree. Haswell
and Alanen {Garden Apart, 70) report
that the North Manitou Island farm of
Nicholas Pickard "produced 1,500
bushels of Indian com, 800 bushels of
buckwheat, 200 bushels of rye, and 50
bushels of potatoes. A flock of 40
sheep had yielded 50 pounds of wool,
and 300 pounds of butter had been
processed from the milk of seven
cows." The source of these data may
have been Secretary of State of the State
of Michigan, Statistics of the State of
Michigan, Compiled from the Census of
1 860, Taken by Authority of the United
States (Lansing: John A. Kerr & Co.,
1861). Haswell and Alanen note that
such discrepancies may reflect errors in
the original returns, "which later "were
corrected in the published version of
the 1860 census of agriculture. In any
event, it is apparent that the farming
operation recorded by the federal census
in 1860 "was an atypic ally large operation.
75
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
farms on the mainland in 1870. 22 The vast tracts of cleared timber
land on the islands, as well as the presence of large-scale operations
like that of Nicholas Pickard, certainly contributed to the more
advanced state of agriculture on the islands during the 1860s.
Although none of North Manitou Island's 91 inhabitants claimed
farming as their primary occupation in the 1870 federal census of
population, two of them did produce agricultural goods. Hugh
Robinson, who reported his occupation as butcher, owned North
Manitou real estate valued at $3,000. A 32-year-old unmarried Irish
immigrant, Robinson had 300 acres of improved land, and 100 acres
of woodland. The value of his farm was $1,500. He owned two
horses, four milk cows, two oxen, ten other cattle, and seven swine,
altogether valued at $1,060. During the previous year he had produced
150 bushels of rye, and paid $200 in wages, including board. The
other North Manitou land owner engaged in agriculture was Nicholas
Pickard, who listed his principal occupation as "wood merchant." He
had 200 acres of improved land, and 120 acres of woodland. In
addition to his farm, valued at $3,000, Pickard owned farm imple-
ments and machinery worth $200, and livestock valued at $1,230,
including eight horses, one mule, three milk cows, eight other cattle,
and six swine. During the previous season he had produced 125
bushels of rye and 200 bushels of oats, and had paid $300 in wages,
including board. 23
Early Homestead Farms on North Manitou Island
Several events at the national level impacted the development of
agriculture in the United States during the 1860s. Foremost of these
were the political and economic turmoil caused by the Civil War, and
passage of the Homestead Act in 1862. The Homestead Act repre-
sented a more liberal land policy than the 1841 Preemption Act that it
superseded, and as such, itwas opposed by eastern industrialists and
southern slaveholders. The succession of the southern states from the
Union ended opposition to the Homestead Act in Congress, and it
subsequently was passed and signed by President Lincoln on 27 May
1862. The Homestead Act allowed the head of any family, who was
also a U S. citizen or intended citizen, to claim up to 160 acres of
land within the surveyed public domain. Claimants acquired title to
the homestead parcel by residing upon the land and making im-
provements over a five-year period. By paying $1.25 per acre,
claimants could commute their entry into full title, provided they
had resided upon and improved the land for six months. In Michi-
gan, approximately three million acres of public lands were distrib-
uted into private ownership through homesteads. 24
Unlike other areas of the Sleeping Bear Dunes region, enact-
ment of the Homestead Act did not have an immediate impact on the
landscape of North Manitou Island (figure 3.1). Forty percent of the
141 homestead entries for lands within the current national lakeshore
boundaries were filed between 1863 and 1865. Two entries were made
for land on South Manitou Island as early as January 1863. 25 In
22 Haswell and Alanen, Garden Apart, 11.
23 U. S. Census Office, "Ninth [1870]
Census of the United States — Popula-
tion," microfilm copy of manuscript
schedules, Library of Michigan, Lansing;
U. S. Census Office, "Ninth [1870]
Census of the United States — Schedule
3, Productions of Agriculture,"
microfilm copy of manuscript sched-
ules, State Archives of Michigan,
Lansing.
24 Haswell and Alanen, Garden Apart, 39.
43,40.
76
Cultivating a Comfortable Wilderness
Homestead Claims Listed
in Order of Initial Filing Date
1. Andrew Anderson, 1875
2. Gustaf Olson Swan, 1878
3. Fredric M. Beuham, 1881
4. Lars Christian Alstrom, 1884
5. Peter Hansen, 1886
6. John O. Anderson, 1896
7. Nels Carlson, 1896
8. Alvar L. Bournique, 1903
9. Nicholas Feilen, 1903
10. John Maleski, 1912
North
1
mile
North Manitou Island Homestead Entries, 1875 - 1912
FIGURE 3.1
Drawing by Eric MacDonald and Katie Franks
77
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
26 Homestead Entry #7013, Final
Certificate #5308, National Archives and
Records Administration, Washington,
D. C. The first homestead entry on
North Manitou Island "was not made by
Richard Kitchen in 1863, as reported in
Haswell and Alanen, Garden Apart, 40.
Kitchen's entry "was for land on South
Manitou Island. See Brenda Wheeler
Williams, Arnold R. Alanen, and
William H. Tishler, 'Coming through with
Rye ': An Historic Agricultural Landscape
Study of South Manitou Island at Sleeping
Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Michigan
(Omaha: Midwest Field Area, National
Park Service, 1996), 34.
27 Homestead Entry #7390, Final
Certificate #6012, National Archives
and Records Administration, Washing-
ton, D. C
28 U. S. Census Office, "Tenth [1880]
Census of the United States —
Population," microfilm copy of
manuscript schedules, Library of
Michigan, Lansing. Baptist Tramel may
be synonymous "with the farmer
identified as "Bobos Trumel" in the
1860 census. Baptist "was aged 65 years
in 1880; Bobos was 45 years in 1860.
Bobos "was identified as an immigrant
from Hamburg, Baptist an immigrant
from Baer (?). The 1870 census lists a
"Barbis" Tramel, age 45, a laborer
from Bavaria.
29 U. S. Census Office, "Tenth [1880]
Census of the United States —
Schedule 2, Productions of Agricul-
ture," microfilm copy of manuscript
schedules, State Archives of Michigan,
Lansing.
30 Haswell and Alanen, Garden Apart,
89.
contrast, North Manitou Island's first homestead entry was made
more than twelve years later by Andrew Anderson who filed a claim
on 6 September 1875. Anderson claimed 159.40 acres at the south-
ern end of the island, in sections 20, 21 and 28 in Township 31
North, Range 14 West. Anderson was an unmarried Swedish immi-
grant, and he apparently operated a small subsistence farm. He had
resided on North Manitou since at least 1870, and may have supple-
mented his livelihood by fishing 26
Although Nicholas Pickard's farm apparently was thriving
still in 1870, it probably ceased operation by the time of his death in
1876, if not sooner. The nearly 70 per-cent decline in the island's
population between 1860 and 1870 suggests that the cord wood era
was mostly over by the end of the decade. Following the decline of
the cord-wood trade, fishing and agriculture became the dominant
economic activities on the island. Immigrant settlers began arriving
to carve out farmsteads from the cut-over land. At least one woods-
man, Adam Maleski, and likely several others, remained on the
island through this transition period. Maleski worked on the island
as a wood chopper during the early 1870s. In the late 1870s he
moved to the island with his wife, Alary and their infant daughter,
and engaged in fishing and agriculture. Sometime during the 1880s
he developed a small farm in the northern half of Section 28,
T32N, R14W. Gustaf Olson Swan, an emigrant from Sweden, filed
North Manitou Island's second homestead entry on 22 October
1878, slightly more than three years after Andrew Anderson claimed
the island's first homestead. Swan and his wife Mary owned one
milk cow, two other cattle, and four poultry. They cultivated corn,
oats, and barley on two acres of cleared land. 2 ' Following the demise
of Pickard's cord wood operation, small subsistence farms such as
those of the Swans, Maleskis, and Andrew Anderson probably were
typical of North Manitou agriculture (figure 3.2).
The 1880 federal population census counted seven farmers on
North Manitou Island: Andrew Anderson, Gustav O. Swan, Frank
Hanson, Larson Larson, Francis Etli, John Strang, and Baptist
Tramel. 28 Agricultural census data exist only for the first six. Ander-
son, Swan, and Hanson reported that they owned their farms, while
Larson, Etli, and Strang were tenant farmers paying cash rent. 29
According to Haswell and Alanen, the 1880 census data suggest that
the farms on North Manitou and South Manitou islands "generally
followed the same patterns of production as those on the mainland,"
which included potatoes, cereal crops, and hay that supported no
more livestock than was necessary to supply the family with meat and
dairy products. 30 It seems likely that this pattern predominated on
North Manitou Island. For example, Andrew Anderson's farm pro-
duced barley, corn, oats, potatoes, beef and eggs during 1879 valued at
$300. Lars Christian Alstrom, who homesteaded 160 acres in Section
21, T31N, R14W, produced modest quantities of potatoes, corn, rye,
oats and turnips on six acres of cultivated land. Consistent with a
78
Cultivating a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 3.2. Although the identities of these
farmers are unknown, this photo depicts the
type of diversified, small-scale agriculture
thatwas typical of North Manitou Island's
homestead settlers, many of whom were
German orScandinavian immigrants.
diversified production strategy, Alstrom's livestock included four
cows, two calves, two pigs, and two sheep. 31 Only surplus agricultural
products were exported, and it is likely that farmers obtained
income from other activities such as fishing or wood cutting.
Commercial Agriculture
Although small-scale subsistence farming predominated, large-scale
farming returned to North Manitou Island during the 1880s. This
larger-scale agriculture was financed by capital that originated from
outside the island economy. Silas R. Boardman, a retired banker from
Chicago, moved to North Manitou Island in 1 884 with his wife Mary,
his daughters Carrie and Stella, and his son Walter. According to
Josephine Hollister, Boardman moved to the island "in search of
health." He eventually acquired most of the eastern portion of the
island, making a large purchase from Stella J. Piatt in 1890 for lands in
sections 21, 22, 27, 28, 33 and 34 in Township 32 North, Range 14
West, and lands in sections 4, 10 and 31 in Township 31 North, Range
14 West. Near the village on the eastern side of the island he built
barns, houses, a grocery store, and wooden plank walkways illumi-
nated with oil-burning lanterns.
Boardman's agricultural venture on North Manitou Island
centered on beef production and breeding draft horses. Boardman
apparently utilized an open-range system, allowing at least some of
his livestock to roam the patches of cut-over vegetation and wood-
lands that extended across his extensive island property. 32 In 1890
Boardman had a "celebrated Purcheron [sic] stallion" on his farm,
which he used as a stud, bringing it to the mainland "for service." 33
During the mid-1 880s the farm was administered by a hired man-
ager, an arrangement that probably continued over the course of
Boardman's ownership of the property. 34
Securing adequate hired labor on North Manitou Island may
have been a problem during this time. In 1896 Boardman placed an
advertisement in the Leelanau Enterprise for "a party to bale 40 or 50
31 Homestead Application #8745, Final
Application #6590, National Archives
and Records Administration, Washing-
ton, D.C
32 Rita Hadra Rusco, North Manitou
Island: Between Sunrise and Sunset (n.p.:
Book Crafters, 1991), 55.
33 l^eelanau Enterprise, 17 April 1890.
34 An item in the 12 August 1886,
Leelanau Enterprise notes that a "Mr.
Hoxie is on his way to assume
management of the Boardman stock
farm on North Manitou Island."
79
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
"' Leelanau Enterprise, 24 December
1896. Since the advertisement was
placed in December, Boardman
apparently sought labor for the
upcoming 1897 season.
j6 Leelanau Enterprise, 24 December
1896, 5 June 1890. The 1896 article also
suggests that Boardman "was using a
mechanical hay baler.
jl Rusco, North Manitou Island, 57.
38 Leelanau Enterprise, 1 August 1889.
39 Josephine Alford Hollister, "The
Summer Resort on North Manitou
Island," February 1989, Sleeping Bear
Dunes National Lakeshore, Empire,
Mich.
4:1 Homestead Application No. 8188,
National Archives and Records
Administration, Washington, D C.
Beuham's application "was filed at Reed
City, Michigan
tons of hay on North Manitou Island." 35 Newspaper advertisements
from the 1890s also indicate that Boardman imported labor from the
mainland to complete such tasks as baling hay. 36 Rusco also recounts
that Boardman placed an advertisement in local newspapers looking
to "'lease on shares, choice land fenced and free of stumps, where
potatoes produced one-hundred-fifty bushels to an acre and beans
would yield fifteen to twenty bushels per acre.'" As part of the deal he
offered "teams of horses, use of farm equipment, housing, and a
market for the crops," presumably the summer resort community that
was developing near North Manitou village. 37
The Boardman family retained strong connections with
Chicago, and the Leelanau Enterprise routinely reported the comings
and goings of Boardman family members to and from the island
during the late 1880s and the 1890s. A brief article printed in 1889 in
the Leelanau Enterprise reported the visit of a Chicago man to the
Boardman stock farm "where we were shown some very fine blooded
stock." 38 The article suggests that Boardman may have resided on the
island during this time; nevertheless, it seems likely that Boardman
conceived of his North Manitou property primarily as a private
resort, a sort of "gentleman's farm." 39
While Silas Boardman was developing his large stock farm
near North Manitou Village, Frederic Beuham began developing an
extensive commercial fruit farm on a tract of cut-over acreage
between the village and Lake Manitou (figure 3.3). Beuham, an unmar-
ried, disabled war veteran, entered a homestead application for 160
acres in Section 33, T31N R14W, on 4 June 1881. 40 During the
1880s Beuham's small farm produced the typical North Manitou
agricultural commodities of potatoes and hay. By 1890, however, he
had planted 500 fruit trees and vines on the property. Four years
later, Beuham used his land as collateral to acquire 1,500 pear and
2,500 apple trees from Stark Bros. Nursery & Orchard Co. Some-
time during the fall of 1894 or the spring of 1895, the trees were
planted in Beuham's North Manitou orchard, which then encom-
Figure 3.3. Frederic Beuham's North
Manitou apple orchard, 1913. Apples and
otherfruits were the island's primary
agricultural exports during the 1910s, when
the hundreds offruittrees planted during
the 1880s and 1890s by homesteader
Frederic Beuham were mature.
80
Cultivating a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 3.4. Hendrick Frederickson farm,
ca. 1900. Frederickson's property was
located on the southwestern shore of the
island. Like many North Manitou settlers,
F rederickson made his living from fishing, in
addition to agriculture.
passed 645 acres. 41 The agreement with Stark Bros, indicates that
Beuham may have had the financial backing of Silas Boardman and
a third party identified as "Mann Bros.," from Two Rivers, Wiscon-
sin. 42 The scale and character of this planting suggests that Beuham
intended his farm to become a profit-making business enterprise.
Beuham may have planned to link his North Manitou orchard with
the Chicago wholesale fruit market via the numerous cargo-bearing
steamships that plied the Manitou Passage. In any event, Beuham's
venture was a step beyond the subsistence agriculture that charac-
terized the other North Manitou Island farms.
Challenges Faced by Owners of Small Farms
While Silas Boardman's extensive stock farm and Frederic Beuham's
maturing fruit orchard represented the resurgence of large-scale,
commercial agriculture on the island, numerous smaller farms per-
sisted. According to the 1 894 state census of agriculture, there were
20 farms on North and South Manitou islands. 43 Many of North
Manitou's small-scale farms were owned by recent Scandinavian
immigrants, including Hendrick Frederickson, Lars Christian Alstrom,
John Olaf Anderson, and Nels and Sophia Carlson. Frederickson, an
emigrant from Denmark, purchased property in 1883 on the south-
eastern shore of the island. He later settled along the southwestern
shore of the island where he engaged in farming and fishing 44 The
following year, Swedish immigrant Lars Christian Alstrom, filed a
homestead application for 160 acres in Section 21, T31N, R14W John
Olaf Anderson homesteaded 160 acres in Section 22, T31N, R14W, in
1890. Nels and Sophia Carlson were associated with Boardman's free-
range cattle operation. They homesteaded 160 acres in Section 9,
T31N,R14Wml896. 45
After the end of the cordwood era, ca. 1870, the island's
population was not large enough to provide a market for surplus
agricultural commodities. The viability of commercial agriculture on
North Manitou Island thus was contingent on a grower's ability to
secure transport of his commodities to external markets. Once an
41 Leelanau Deeds, Liber 23, 168-169;
David L. Fritz, "History Data Report
on North Manitou Island, Leelanau
County, Michigan" (Denver: U.S.
Department of the Interior, National
Park Service, 1987), ii. Large-scale fruit
farming probably developed on North
Manitou Island after 1894. As Fritz
notes, the 1894 state census of agricul-
ture reports only 33 acres of apple trees
and one acre of pear trees for both
Manitou islands combined. See Gardner
Washington, Michigan Secretary of
State, Census of the State of Michigan,
1 894, Volume II: Agriculture, Manufacto-
ries, Mines and Fisheries (Lansing: Robert
Smith & Co., 1896).
42 Leelanau Deeds, Liber 23, 168-169.
The agreement "was received for record
on 18 August 1894.
4j Gardner Washington, Michigan
Secretary of State, Census of the State of
Michigan, 1 894, vol. 2, Agriculture,
Manufactories, Mines and Fisheries
(Lansing: Robert Smith & Co., 1896);
Fritz, "History Data Report," ii, 9.
44 U.S. Census Office, "Twelfth [1900]
Census of the United States —
Population," microfilm copy of
manuscript schedules, State Historical
Society of Wisconsin, Madison; U.S.
Land Office, "Tract Books," vol. 45
(Leelanau County), State Archives of
Michigan, Lansing; Fritz, "History Data
Report," 7, 87; Rusco, North i
Island, 78.
45 U.S. Land Office, "Tract Books; :
Rusco, North Manitou Island, 54.
81
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
46 Leelanau Enterprise, 24 July 1890.
47 Leelanau Enterprise, 10 April 1890.
48 Leelanau Deeds, Liber 24, 318.
49 Hollister, "Summer Resort."
Photographs in the collection of the
Chicago Maritime Society suggest that
the Newhalls were present on North
Manitou Island as early as 1897.
integral node in Great Lakes transport routes, North Manitou had
become increasingly isolated after its timber reserves had been
depleted and coal had replaced wood as the primary fuel for steam-
ers. North Manitou's farmers needed to produce relatively large
quantities of agricultural commodities in order to make shipment
off the island by steamship economical. For an entrepreneur who
was independently wealthy such as Silas Boardman, the investment
required to reach this level of production was less of a challenge.
Thus, the economic forces that generally encouraged commercial
agriculture during the late nineteenth century, probably were height-
ened on North Manitou Island, where transportation may have been
more costly.
On July 24, 1890, the Leelanau Enterprise reported that the
steamer Marston Dame was "cavorting about the lake with a cargo of
wild Manitou steers," most, if not all, of which probably came from
Boardman's free-range stock farm. 46 Commodities such as grains had
to be transported off the island to mainland grist mills for processing
and shipment to larger markets. For the island's independent farm-
ers — those who could operate only at a small scale — this was not an
insignificant task. They may have hired a fisherman and his boat, or
ventured across the lake themselves. The Leelanau Enterprise printed
the following account on April 10, 1890:
Two Swedes, from North Manitou Island whose names we
were unable to catch on, came over and landed on our
shore last week in a sail boat with a grist of 50 bushels
which they left at I. T Pheatt's grist mill. It seems these
gentlemen have tried all the grist mills along the shore
within a reasonable distance from home and have found
by experience that Mr. Pheatt will do as good a job as they
can get done anywhere. 47
The island's increasing isolation from larger markets, combined with
its relatively poor soils, limited agriculture to those individuals who
were willing to tolerate subsistence conditions, or to those who could
afford the significant capital investment required to make commercial
agriculture on the island viable.
Investing in a large-scale agricultural venture in a marginal
locale was a risky venture. In attempting to establish large-scale
commercial fruit production on North Manitou Island, Frederic
Beuham may have overextended himself financially. Through the
terms of their agreement, Stark Bros, evidently gained possession of
Beuham's North Manitou orchards, and in 1899 sold property encom-
passing more than 1,800 acres to Franklin and Benjamin Newhall of
Chicago. 48 Some of the acreage involved in this transfer may have
belonged to Silas Boardman, who was Beuham's partner in the
orchard venture. According to Josephine Hollister, Franklin Newhall
and his son, Benjamin, bought out Silas Boardman's North Manitou
farming operation in 1899. 49
82
Cultivating a Comfortable Wilderness
In consolidating the land holdings and agricultural opera-
tions of both Boardman and Beuham, the Newhalls effectively
expanded and diversified the farming operation on North Manitou
Island. Franklin Newhall was a Chicago wholesale fruit dealer who
resided in the affluent suburb of Glencoe, Illinois. Benjamin
Newhall took charge of the island orchard operations, planting two
sweet cherry orchards and three tart cherry orchards, as well as
increasing the acreage devoted to plums, pears and apricots. His
brother, John, resided on the island as manager of the family's farm
and resort cottages. The former Beuham homestead was the work-
ing hub of the orchard activities. There, the Newhalls utilized a
packing shed located along the road that led from the orchards to
the village (figure 3.5). Fruit was packaged at the shed, then trans-
ported to the village dock to be shipped to Chicago via steamship. 50
According to Ruchhoft, the Newhalls' North Manitou farm also
produced wheat, oats, rye, corn, and potatoes. 51
A 1900 atlas of Leelanau counties indicates that the
Newhalls owned more than 8,350 acres on North Manitou; by then
they had become the island's largest land holders. Gottlieb Patek
owned almost four thousand acres, and about a dozen individuals
owned smaller parcels clustered at the southern end of the island. 52
The manuscript schedules for the 1900 population census do not
distinguish North Manitou's inhabitants from other residents of
Leland Township. However, several familiar North Manitou names
Figure 3.5. Apple packing crew, North
Manitou Island, ca. 1910s. The men and
women featured in this photograph
probably were island residents whom the
Newhall family hired to harvest, sort, and
pack apples thatwere shipped to the
family's wholesale fruitwarehouses in
Chicago. The structure depicted in the
background probably stood in the large
apple orchard planted by Frederic Beuham
and Stark Bros. Nursery & Orchard Co.
during the 1880s and 1890s.
Hollister, "Summer Resort;" Rusco,
North Manitou Island, 57-58.
51 R. H. Ruchhoft, Exploring North
Manitou, South Manitou, High and Garden
Islands of the Lake Michigan Archipelago
(Cincinnati: Pucelle Press, 1991), 184.
83
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 3.6. Employees of the Newhall
family pose with baskets of apples atthe
Frederic Beuham orchard. The distant
structure in the far upper right corner of this
photograph may be the barn pictured in
figure 3.5.
52 Fritz, "History Data Report," 12-13.
53 U.S. Census Office, "Twelfth [1900]
Census of the United States — Popula-
tion."
54 Paul Maleski, Jr., interview by Betty L.
Mann, 29 August 1984, audio tape
recording on file at Leelanau Historical
Museum, Leland, Michigan.
55 Paul Maleski, Jr., interview by the
authors, 26 July 1997.
appear on the census rolls, including the families of John and Ildra
[sic] Anderson, Christian and Nartha (?) Olestrom [sic], Peter and
Mary Swenson, Adam and Christina [Mary] Maleski, Philip Drow (?),
Nelson Carlson, Henry Frederickson, John Johnson, and Nicholas
Felin [sic]. 53 In addition to engaging in subsistence agriculture on
their own farms, some of these families may have supplemented
their livelihoods by working for the larger, well-financed operation
of the Newhalls (figure 3.6).
Perhaps inspired by the success of Boardman's stock farm,
other North Manitou farmers adopted free-range husbandry of beef
cattle. The Maleski family developed a large herd of cattle at their
farm on the northern end of the island. Many years later, Paul
Maleski, Jr., recounted that the family's cattle herd once numbered
150 animals. Most of the stock were allowed to roam the island
freely, and were branded to distinguish them from cattle belonging
to other islanders. When the animals returned to the farm for salt or
hay, Paul Maleski would corral them. Animals butchered on the
farm were sold to the Leland Mercantile. Larger numbers of cattle
were shipped to more distant markets by steamer. Such shipments
were often arranged in cooperation with other island agriculturists,
including Nels Carlson and Peter Stormer, who each contributed a
few animals. The cattle were collected in a paddock near the North
Manitou village dock, where they were loaded onto a vessel with a
capacity of up to forty head. 54 The Maleskis continued free-range
cattle ranching until the early 1910s when conflicts with the
Newhalls over land use forced them to reduce the size of their herd
to only the number of animals that could be supported on the
family's small acreage. 55
A different sort of farming enterprise began in 1903 at the
southeastern tip of the island when Alvar and Alary Bournique filed a
homestead application for 152.20 acres. Bournique subsequently
developed an extensive complex of log farm buildings, fields, pasture
lands and a small orchard. Like Silas Boardman's earlier farm at North
84
Cultivating a Comfortable Wilderness
Manitou Village, the Bournique place was as much a summer resort
as it was a working farm. Unlike Boardman, however, it is not clear
that the Bourniques ever operated their North Manitou Island farm
as a profit-making, business venture. Rather, the Bournique property
was used primarily for recreational purposes. More akin to a private,
modern "dude ranch," it was occupied only during the summer
months by the family and their guests. The Bourniques hired their
neighbor, John O. Anderson, to manage their farm and look after it
during their absence. They were, like Boardman and the Newhalls,
absentee land owners during much of the year.
Agriculture as an Adjunct to Timber Harvesting
Extensive, organized efforts to harvest the island's second-growth
timber during the 1900s once again brought an influx of population,
and a sizable local market for food. Like the cordwood era, how-
ever, the large lumber operations tended to supply much of these
commodities themselves, and it is questionable whether the lumber
communities represented a significant market for the island's inde-
pendent farmers. Rather, the lumber camps may have been more
significant as a source of employment for island residents, with
private farms and homesteads used mostly for subsistence. None-
theless, like before, the lumber company farms were large in size.
Hay and grain apparently were cultivated on the island to supply the
logging operations, and the company used some of the cleared land
for agriculture to produce food for its workers and to support a
small dairy herd and other livestock (figure 3.7) . 56 A photograph of
the Crescent townsite published in biologist Robert T Hatt's 1916
study of island wildlife, depicts corn fields bounded by a wooden
rail fence. 57
Sometime after 1913, Peter Stormer, who began logging on
the island ca. 1908, purchased the Alstrom farmstead and moved his
family there. Until 1923, Stormer used the farm to sustain his family,
as well as the men and animals laboring in his two North Manitou
lumber camps. Ethel Stormer recalled that the family raised "a great
many cattle" and kept about 40 to 45 horses for the lumber camps. 58
To supply their crews with beef, Stormer and other logging camp
operators had to provide their cattle with supplemental feed during
the winters. The island farms apparently were unable to produce
enough fodder to meet the demand of the logging operations; both
hay and oats were imported from the mainland. During periods of
food shortages, the cattle were turned loose to forage for them-
selves. Under harsh winter conditions, Furst recalled that many
animals starved, leaving the island littered with carcasses in the
spring 59
If they remained on the island, many farmers probably
abandoned agriculture for a more reliable and lucrative income from
the lumber camps. Some North Manitou families left their homes
56 David L. Fritz, "Draft National
Register of Historic Places Registration
Form, 'Swanson Barn,'" 22 September
1987, Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore, Empire, Mich.
57 Robert T. Hatt, J. VanTyne, L. C.
Stuart, C. H. Pope, and A. B. Grobman,
Island Iffe: A Study of the Land Verte-
brates of the Islands of Eastern Lake
Michigan (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.:
Cranbrook Institute of Science, 1948),
43.
58 Fritz, "History Data Report," 18, 86.
59 Furst, My Point of View (n.p., 1992), 6.
85
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 3.7. The "Big Field" on North
Manitou's western side, nearthe townsite of
Crescent, ca. 1910. During the firsttwo
decades of the twentieth century much of
the island's agricultural production
supported intensive timber extraction.
60 Fritz, "History Data Report," 85;
Rusco, "North Manitou Island, 68-69.
61 Paul Maleski, Jr., interview by Betty L.
Mann, 29 August 1984.
62 Furst, My Point of View, 5.
6j U.S. Department of Commerce,
Bureau of Census, "Thirteenth [1910]
Census of the United States — Popula-
tion," microfilm copy of manuscript
schedules, Library of Michigan, Lansing.
and relocated to the lumber camps. Around 1909, John Anderson
moved his family to Crescent, where they remained until the A. J.
White lumber mill ceased operations. Peter Swanson probably did
the same, although Swanson's son Enus remained on the island as
an employee of Peter Stormer. 60 Other farm families utilized logging
jobs for supplemental cash income. Paul Maleski, Sr., worked at the
lumber mills when he was a youth. Maleski also delivered mail
between the eastern side of the island and Crescent "during the
good old prime lumbering days." 61 Throughout the era of second-
growth logging, only the Maleski family and the Newhalls appear to
have engaged primarily in commercial agriculture on the island. The
Maleski farm by this time had evolved into an extensive beef cattle
operation.
During the early decades of the twentieth century a rather
fragmentary and insular local economy functioned on the island —
one that remained somewhat disjoined from the larger economy in
many ways. Glenn Furst recounted that his family's diet often lacked
milk and fresh vegetables. Although they obtained eggs from a
mixed flock of chickens, much of the family's food supply came
from tin cans imported from the mainland. 62 The 1910 federal
census recorded only two farmers on North Manitou Island: Adam
Maleski, and John L? Johnson. John Newhall (age 27) listed his
occupation as fruit farm overseer. 63 In addition to Maleski, Johnson,
86
Cultivating a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 3.8. Herman Prause posing with
a cow on the Newhall farm, ca. 1900s.
The Newhall farm was operated as a
business, dependent upon a
hierarchical managerial structure and a
paid workforce. This type of commercial
agriculture was developed even further
by the Newhalls' successor, the Manitou
Island Syndicate.
and Newhall, there were at least two farm laborers on North
Manitou. It seems likely that they worked either for John Newhall,
or the Smith & Hull lumber operation on the western side of the
island. 64
Following the decline timber extraction during the late 1910s
and early 1920s, a very different farm economy was evident on the
island. Small-scale, privately owned farms had nearly disappeared
from the island landscape, while larger farms operated by hired
workers remained. In 1920 there were six "farm laborers" on the
island; however, only two of them, John and Paul Maleski, were
working on their "own account." Three others were wage workers.
John O. Anderson was a salaried farm laborer, probably employed
by Avar and Mary Boumique. In addition, there were two salaried
farm managers living on the island, Ralph Troats and Harrison
Weaver. Troats lived with his wife Mary and his twin daughters
Louise and Luella (age four), while Weaver resided with his wife
Mary Jane. 65 At least one of these men, if not both, probably was
working for the Manitou Island Syndicate. The 1920 census reflects
the demographic change that occurred in the wake of the second
logging boom: with the exception of the Maleskis, the island's
independent farming families had abandoned their small North
Manitou farmsteads. Many had departed in search of other eco-
nomic opportunities on the mainland. Those who remained turned
to other vocations, or found employment as farm laborers. North
Manitou agriculture was dominated thence by a single, corporate
land owner.
The Ascendancy of Corporate Farming
The trend toward large-scale farms owned by absentee proprietors
and operated by professional managers and wage laborers, entered a
new phase when the Newhalls' operation passed into the control of
the group of Chicago investors known as the Manitou Island Syndi-
cate (figure 3.8). As suggested in the previous chapter, it seems
64 U.S. Department of Commerce,
Bureau of Census, "Thirteenth [1910]
Census of the United States — Popula-
tion." The census manuscripts exam-
ined by the authors are very difficult to
read. Only two individuals identified as
farm laborers "were distinguished:
Charlie Johnson and ? Johnson.
65 U. S. Department of Commerce,
Bureau of Census, "Fourteenth [1920]
Census of the United States — Popula-
tion," microfilm copy of manuscript
schedules, State Historical Society of
Wisconsin, Madison.
87
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
66 Hollister, "Summer Resort."
67 Fritz, "History Data Report," 71.
Fritz's sources are interviews "with Paul
Maleski, letters from Giles E. Merritt,
and NPS land acquisition files.
bS Giles E. Merritt, untitled manuscript,
11 February 1986, Sleeping Bear Dunes
National Lakeshore, Empire, Mich.;
Giles E. Merritt, "U.S. Coast Guard N.
Manitou Isl. Events 1925-28," 26
August 1 991, Sleeping Bear Dunes
National Lakeshore, Empire, Mich.;
Vera Crites Goos, interview by Betty L.
Mann, 15 and 18 June 1993, audio
recording on file at the Leelanau
Historical Museum, Leland, Mich.; Paul
Maleski, Jr., interview by Betty L. Mann,
29 August 1984. audio tape recording
on file at Leelanau Historical Museum,
Leland, Michigan.
69 Giles E. Merritt, untitled manuscript,
11 February 1986; Vera Crites Goos,
interview.
possible, if not likely, that the syndicate initially did not acquire its
North Manitou real estate assets for the express purpose of turning
them into a profit-making business venture. Hollister states that the
syndicate initially formed from the group of investors who held the
mortgage for the Newhalls' island property. 66 Fritz states that the
syndicate initially supported the Crescent lumber operation, engag-
ing in general agriculture, raising cattle, wheat, oats, rye, and pota-
toes during the late 1890s through the 1910s. 67 With scant documen-
tary evidence available, the origins, early composition, and purpose
of the syndicate remain somewhat obscure. However, it appears as
though the early 1920s was a formative time for the organization,
during which the syndicate was reconfigured and transformed into a
more pragmatic, operative business enterprise. Seminal events in
this process were the restructuring of the organization under the
aegis of the Manitou Island Association (MIA), and the arrival of
William R. Angell in 1926. By the end of the decade, a highly
structured system of agricultural management had become central
to the operation of the AHA, and agricultural commodities, espe-
cially beef cattle and fruit, had become primary sources of income.
The principal source documenting this transition is an MIA
accounts ledger book for the period September 1924 through
December 1929. The ledger provides a glimpse of the MIA's agricul-
tural operations during the late 1920s, documenting expenditures for
farm labor, and sales of dairy products, meat, and fruits and veg-
etables to MIA employees, other North Manitou residents, and
external buyers. This single source certainly does not fully represent
the MIA's farming activities during 1925-1929. For example, other
sources suggest that apple cultivation and cattle raising were more
important activities than the account book indicates. 68 Information
documenting these two activities is certainly incomplete. In one
instance, the book shows that the AHA incurred an expense for
"labor for driving cattle" during autumn 1 924; however, the ledger
does not record any income from the sale of cattle that year. Like-
wise, the account book shows large expenditures of labor for the
apple orchard, but little income in return. Alost of the apple sales
recorded in the ledger are small transactions involving islanders and
AHA shareholders. Other sources, however, confirm that the AHA
shipped large quantities of apples from the island during this pe-
riod. 69 The ledger references other separate account books, such as a
"day book" and a "cherry book," and it seems likely that vital
information about many of the AHA's various business ventures are
lost with these documents. Nonetheless, the account book is an
extremely valuable and useful source for assessing the MIA's farming
operations on the island during the late 1920s.
The late 1920s seems to have been a formative period for
the MIA, during which the organization honed its business operation
to maximize profits. The overall pattern of transactions suggests
that the AHA's operations moved from a diversified farming enter-
Cultivating a Comfortable Wilderness
'
prise in the mid-1920s to a strategy focused on cherry production by
the end of the decade. In 1924, for example, the MIA maintained
separate financial accounts under eleven different headings: apple
orchard, cherry orchard, dairy, wood, fish, hog, ice, sugar bush,
roads, tow boat, and "general farm" accounts. By 1929, the AHA no
longer maintained separate accounts for hogs, tow boat, and fish,
and the sugar bush transactions had become insignificant in terms
of both expenditures and income. In contrast, the cherry orchards,
which continued to expand in extent through this period, had
become the MIA's greatest income producer by the end of the
decade. In general, the MI As labor force and the overall scale of its
operation increased slightly throughout the period. 70
The MIAs agricultural operation extended across its vast
land holdings on the island. Activities were concentrated at the
locations of earlier farmsteads, where the association utilized the
clearings and some of the buildings of the island's departed farmers.
For example, the MIA utilized the clearings at the former Carlson
and Alstrom/Stormer farms as hay fields. 71 The entire operation was
coordinated from the MIAs headquarters at North Manitou Village,
where the association constructed a complex of barns and other
support structures in 1927 (figures 3.9 and 3.10). The MIA used the
cleared land north and east of the village farm complex for livestock
pasture and field crops, including potatoes, corn and hay, and cherry
and apple orchards. The MIAs east-side operation also included
pigs, chickens, and a herd of dairy cattle, which was kept in fenced
pastures near the village. 72 The former Crescent/Peter Swanson
farm functioned as a secondary node from which the association's
managers coordinated activities on the western side of the island
(figure 3.11). The "west side" operation also included several milk
cows, chickens, hogs, several fruit trees, and fields of hay, corn,
potatoes. 73
Figure 3.9. The partially-finished MIA
barn at North Manitou Village, 1927.
The completed barn housed the MIA
dairy herd, farm equipment, hay, a cold
storage room for deer carcasses, and
ventilated lofts for temporary storage of
cherries. The debris in the foreground
may be from demolished buildings
formerly utilized by the Boardmans and
Newhalls.
Figure 3.10 (below). Four members of
the MIA barn construction crew, 1927.
Most of the construction workers came
to the island from the mainland,
suggesting that the expertise required to
build such a modern, specialized
structure was unavailable locally.
7<J Manitou Island Association Accounts
Journal, , September 1924 - December
1929, MIA Collection, Sleeping Bear
Dunes National Lakeshore, Empire,
Mich.
71 Giles E. Merritt, untitled manuscript,
11 February 1986. Merrittwas hired by
the Manitou Island Syndicate in autumn
1925.
72 Fritz, "History Data Report," 22, 28;
Fritz's source is Giles E. Merritt; Paul
Maleski, Jr., interview by the authors, 26
July 1997.
73 Giles E. Merritt, untitled manuscript,
11 February 1986.
89
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 3.11, Haystacks at Manitou Island
Association west-side farm. The MIA
coordinated its "west-side"agricultural
operations from the abandoned Crescent
townsite. The west-side farm utilized the
formerhomeofthePeterSwansonand
J ohn Swenson families, and two large
clearings that previously had been farmed
to support the draftanimals and various
labor crews associated with the Smith & Hull
Lumber Company.
74 Furst, My Point of View, 46; Giles E.
Merritt, "U.S. Coast Guard N. Manitou
Isl. Events 1925-28."
75 Giles E. Merritt, "U.S. Coast Guard
N. Manitou Isl. Events 1925-28."
76 Paul Maleski, Jr., interview by the
authors, 26 July 1997.
11 Manitou Island Association Accounts
Journal; Leelanau Enterprise, 16 Septem-
ber 1 926. The MIA may have been a
member of an organization variously
mentioned in the accounts journal as
the Provemont Co-operative Marketing
Association or, simply, the "Provemont
Farmers Association." The journal
records several instances of cattle and
apples being shipped to Provemont.
During at least the mid-1920s the MIA utilized the island's
vast tracts of cut-over hardwood forests as free-range pastureland
for beef cattle, by this time a long-standing management tradition
common to all of the island's successive, large land owners. Docu-
mentary sources suggest that the association maintained a large herd
on the island during this period. According to Giles Merritt, at least
some of the herd consisted of purebred Black Angus. 74 During the
autumn of 1925, Merritt worked for the Manitou Island Association
rounding up cattle to be shipped to Chicago. He recounted that the
cattle roamed the woods at the northwestern end of the island, but
rarely ventured to the village or to the west side farm. Occasionally,
cattle would migrate to the AHA barns to be fed. In such instances
the MIA farm manager would herd the cattle into a corral near the
big village dock (figure 3.12). There the animals were fed, and
provided with water from Lake Michigan. When the corral was full,
the farm manager would "call the Syndicate." A steam ship would
arrive several days later, and a truck was used to pull the cattle
along the dock and load them onto the ship. 75
Merritt's account of the MIA beef cattle operation was
corroborated by Paul Maleski, Jr., who recalled that the cattle were
shipped on a steamship called Rambler. 76 Frank Reed may have
coordinated the shipment of cattle for the MIA, for in 1926 the
Association's cattle account received payment of $4,455.82 for
"two shipment cattle to Fr. Reed" in Chicago. In addition to Chi-
cago, the MIAs cattle were shipped to local markets. In September
1926 the MIA incurred a $32.00 "cash expense getting cattle to
Provemont." This shipment may have been reported by the Leelanau
Enterprise on September 16, 1926. 77 During this period, beef produc-
tion was part a larger, diversified production strategy that also
included fruit cultivation. The Leelanau Enterprise reported on 15
October 1925, that John Kinnucan had transported two loads of
cattle from the island in his scow, and that on one occasion he had
90
Cultivating a Comfortable Wilderness
returned to the island "with a cargo of baskets" which probably
were used for harvesting and shipping apples from the MIA or-
chards. 78
After 1926 the AHA apparently abandoned the free-range
cattle strategy. In 1925 the association earned $4844.25 from the
sale of beef, and another $1,211.05 from the sale of a carload of
beef cattle. In 1926 two shipments of cattle generated the income
referenced above; however, there is no record of cattle shipments
during 1927. An article published that year in the journal Michigan
History quoted another observer who noted that "'there has been an
attempt at cattle ranching, and there was quite an exciting time last
summer when they were trying to catch the cattle that had run wild.
Apparently the long winter and inability to raise sufficient winter
feed is against cattle-ranching'" 79
The association's accounts ledger suggests that after 1927
the MIA raised only the number of livestock that could be main-
tained by the fenced pastureland at its village and west side farms.
Revenue from pork and beef sales was no longer separated from
other "farm" income, and transactions were made primarily with
local island residents. As suggested by the 1927 Michigan History
article, marginal profitability may have prompted AHA managers to
discontinue free-range cattle husbandry. However, another factor
Figure 3.12. Cattle held at the Manitou
Island Association corral near the village
dock. During the 1920s the M IA continued
the long-standing tradition of allowing beef
cattle to freely graze the island's woodlands.
Periodically, the roaming herds of cattle
were corralled and detained nearthe
village dock. The cattle were shipped via
steamship to markets on the mainland or in
Chicago.
70 I^eelanauHnterprise, 15 October 1925.
Kinnucan "was the AHA farm manager
from the mid-1920s until 1931.
79 Marion Morse Davis, "A Romantic
Chain of Islands," Michigan History
11(3): 352 (July 1927).
91
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
80 Leelanau Enterprise, 21 January 1926.
81 Haswell and Alanen, Garden Apart, 93.
82 Rusco, North Manitou Island, 57; John
Newhall Collection, Chicago Maritime
Society, Chicago, 111.
83 Furst, My Point of View, 83; Furst
recounted that his family paid more
frequent visits to the village "when the
sweet cherries there "were ripening.
84 Giles E. Merritt, untitled manuscript,
11 February 1986.
may have additionally influenced their decision — the arrival in 1926
of "nine small deer." 80 The association's managers may have viewed
island's roaming cattle as a needless hindrance to the establishment
of a thriving white tail deer herd on the island. To reduce competi-
tion for food, the managers may have decided that Bos taunts should
surrender its woodland habitat to Odocoileus virginianus. Whatever the
reason for abandoning free-range cattle ranching, the MIA general
accounts ledger suggests that the company discovered fruit cultiva-
tion to be a more lucrative production strategy during the late
1920s. Although the association's orchards produced apricots,
plums, pears, and apples, its management strategy seemed to focus
resources and attention on the production of sweet and tart cherries.
D. H. Day supposedly planted the lakeshore region's first
commercial cherry orchard in the Glen Haven area during the
1890s, although small cherry orchards had been established else-
where in the region before then. 81 Day established a cannery at Glen
Haven in 1923, and it may have been this event that prompted the
Manitou Island Association to increase its cherry production. Cherry
orchards already existed on the island by the time the MIA was
organized. Rusco states that the Newhalls planted three tart cherry
orchards and two sweet cherry orchards on their property sometime
during their tenure on the island, perhaps as early as ca. 1900. A
historic photograph at the Chicago Maritime Society indicates that
the Newhalls planted a large cherry orchard on the island ca. 1910. 82
Most likely, these orchards were producing crops of sweet cherries
for the Manitou Island Syndicate during the early 1920s. 83 The
suitability of the island's soils and climate to cherry cultivation thus
had been well-proven by the mid-1 920s.
The MIA sold only small quantities of cherries to island
residents and resorters during late July 1925. The accounts journal
indicates that the MIA at that time was selling at least two varieties
of sweet cherries, identified as "Bings" and "H. Sweets." In addi-
tion, the AHA was selling a variety referred to as "King," and a
variety denoted as "Mont," probably an abbreviation for "Mont-
morency," a variety of tart cherry. Large individual orders recorded
in 1925 came from the Leland Mercantile, Dalton Bros., Alvar
Bournique, and W. R. Angell, who purchased 49 crates, 150 pounds,
8 flats, and 40 "fancy boxes" of cherries. However, the largest
shipment of cherries in 1925 may have been sent to D H. Day's
cannery — the accounts journal indicates that the MIA received
$536.96 from D H. Day for cherries that year.
The MIA continued to sell small quantities of cherries to
island residents and its members throughout 1925-1929. The
proportion of the cherry crop that was exported from the island,
however, appears to have risen dramatically during this period. Giles
Merritt recalled that some of the cherries were packed in fifty-gallon
oak barrels. These were shipped to Chicago where they were used
for maraschino}^ Merritt also recalled that some of the cherries were
92
Cultivating a Comfortable Wilderness
made into wine by the MIA farm manager, John Kinnucan. The
"bootleg" cherry wine was stored in a root cellar constructed in
1927 near Tamarack Lake. 85 Nevertheless, the vast majority of the
island's cherry crop probably left the island for legitimate uses.
During the 1928 season the MIA sold cherries to two firms — Cuneo
Bros, and Wayne & Low. The general accounts ledger contains a
single entry noting that $3,646.59 worth of cherries had been sold
to D. H. Day during the "cannary [sic] season 1929 ." 86
Like other parts of the Sleeping Bear Dunes Lakeshore
region, the island's climate and soils were adequately suited to
commercial cherry cultivation. However, North Manitou Island's
climate may have been somewhat less favorable to cherry cultiva-
tion than other nearby locations. Because of its position in Lake
Michigan, cherries on North Manitou ripened two weeks later than
those on the mainland. The delayed island harvest was advanta-
geous in years when demand outstripped supply because cherries
that arrived on the market later could take advantage of high prices.
Conversely, when supply grossly outstripped the demand for cher-
ries, the island's later harvest time was a significant liability. Even
when supplies were adequate to meet demands, the later harvest
time meant that the island's cherries entered the marketplace pre-
cisely when the market price was at its lowest. The island's geo-
graphic position also exposed its cherry crops to greater risk from
weather damage because storms hit the island earlier and with
greater intensity than when they arrived on the mainland. 87 Never-
theless, despite the potential risks, the initial success of its cherry
business may have prompted the MIA to expand its orchards during
at least one season between 1925 and 1929 — in March 1929 the
MIA purchased an unspecified number of cherry trees from "B & H
Nurseries" for $495.00.
Apples were the other staple of the MIA's fruit business. As
previously noted, apple sales probably generated more revenue than
the 1925-1929 AHA general account ledger indicates. The AHA
began selling apples to island residents each season during the end
of August. In 1925 the AHA paid a $19.96 charge for "draying
apples to Provemont." That year the AHA also shipped a large
quantity of apples to "Wayne & Low," a firm that later purchased a
significant quantity of cherries in 1928. Giles Alerritt recalled that
apples were shipped by scow to Leland. From there they were
transported to warehouses in Leland, Suttons Bay, Lake Leelanau,
and Traverse City. 88 Only two apple varieties, Spy and Wagner, are
identified in the AHA ledger by name. In addition to apples, the AHA
sold pears, plums, and crab apples. The association probably utilized
the orchards that had been planted by Frederic Beuham and Stark
Bros, during the late 1880s and early 1890s, with possible later
additions by the Newhalls. There is no indication that the AHA
expanded the acreage devoted to any fruit other than cherries during
the 1920s.
85 Giles E. Merritt, "U.S. Coast Guard
N. Manitou Isl. Events 1925-28."
S6 Manitou Island Association Accounts
Journal.
37 Rusco, North Manitou Island, 37;
[Myron H. Ross and Robert A.
Steadman], "Preliminary Report of
Commission," United States of
America V. Security Trust Company, et al
and Unknown Owners; Detroit Bank
and Trust Company, Trustee, et al, and
Unknown Owners, U S. District Court
for the Western District of Michigan,
Southern Division, filed 23 February
1983, Angell Foundation Collection,
Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore, Empire, Mich. Even today,
cherry growing is a risky endeavor, with
annual yields of the extremely perish-
able fruits contingent on "weather events,
and profits dependent on fluctuating
market demand. A single storm
occurring during the cherry harvest can
completely ruin an excellent crop.
88 Giles E. Merritt, untitled manuscript,
11 February 1986.
93
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 3.13. Louis Halsted collecting
maple sap for the Manitou Island
Association, ca. 1928. The MIA
attempted to turn traditional island
subsistence activities, such as fishing,
fuel-wood cutting, and maple syrup making,
into profitable ventures. Seasonal activities
such as wood cutting and syrup making
provided much-welcomed winter
employmentopportunities forthe island's
residents. Like Louis Halsted, several
members of the M lA's winter work crews
also were employees of the North Manitou
Island U.S. Coast Guard Station during
this period.
39 Fritz, "History Data Report," 25.
90 Manitou Island Association Accounts
Journal.
91 Fritz, "History Data Report, 24;
Fritz's source "was Giles E. Merritt.
Outside of cattle husbandry and fruit cultivation, the
Manitou Island Association's endeavors were of considerably less
pecuniary importance during the late 1920s. The association inter-
mittently engaged in commercial fishing, which netted a modest
profit of $428.41 in 1925. Cordwood proved to be a more steady
and reliable source of revenue, however. The MIA sold wood to the
U.S. Coast Guard station and the North Manitou school district, as
well as to AHA employees and other island residents. Ice was an-
other commodity for which the MIA found a local market. Ice was
harvested from Lake Manitou and, after 1927, stored in the MIAs
barn near the village. 89 The association's principal clients for ice
were the U.S. Coast Guard, Katie Shepard, and Avar Bournique. 90
No doubt AHA members, including Roger Sherman, George
AlcConnell, Frank Reed, and William Angell, availed themselves of
the ice when they visited their island cottages during the summer
months. Wood cutting and ice harvesting occupied the association's
work crews during much of the winter.
Another seasonal activity was the operation of a sugar bush
located southeast of the Alaleski farm (figure 3.13). 91 Sugar produc-
tion may have been erratic during the late 1920s due to weather or
other factors. During 1925 the MIA sold a total of 73 gallons of
94
Cultivating a Comfortable Wilderness
maple syrup. F. M. Reed, Roger Sherman, A. A. Murray, John
McConnell, Mrs. F. L. M. McComber, and W R. Angell purchased
significant quantities of syrup; Sherman alone purchased 22 gallons
of maple syrup during 1925. Thus, the MIA adapted another tradi-
tional subsistence activity to commercial production.
A "Company Island"
Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, the Maleski family remained the
Manitou Island Association's only competitor for the modest, local
agricultural commodities market. After being forced to abandon
large-scale beef production during the 1910s, the Maleski's returned
to more a diversified "general farming" strategy. The Maleskis still
raised beef cattle, although the herd was limited to the number of
animals that could be supported on the family's acreage. The
Maleskis developed a large garden at their farmstead and, with a
1921 Model T Ford that Paul Maleski, Sr. purchased in 1928,
delivered fresh vegetables to employees of the AHA and the U. S.
Coast Guard, Cottage Row residents, and Katie Shepard's summer
hotel. Paul Maleski, Jr., recalled that the family sold "carrots, cu-
cumbers, sweet corn, onions, beans, 'baggies' [rutabagas], peas,
beets, potatoes, and parsnips." The Maleski's market garden was
severely threatened by the explosive increase in the deer herd
introduced by the MIA, and the family was forced to enclose their
garden plot with a tall wire fence.
Like the MIA, the Maleskis also produced maple syrup from
a sugar house that was located on their farm. Paul Maleski, Jr.,
recalled that his father sold their maple syrup for one dollar per
gallon, which was exactly half the price for which the AHA sold its
syrup. 92 Despite the somewhat adversarial relationship that existed
between the Alanitou Island Association and the Alaleskis, family
members nonetheless obtained seasonal employment from the
association. Paul Alaleski, Jr., worked for two summers milking the
AAA's nine cows twice per day, tending calves, cleaning the barn,
and hoeing corn on the eastern side of the island. Paul and the other
Alaleski children also worked for "the company" during the cherry
harvests. 93 Working for the AHA was an important source of cash
income on an island that offered few opportunities for wage work.
The general accounts ledger suggests the extent to which the
Alanitou Island Association controlled the relatively closed eco-
nomic system that existed on North Alanitou Island during the
1920s. The association dominated the local labor market, with the
AlIA's core workforce consisting of eight to ten men during the
1925-1929 period. Of these, only two men, John L. Kinnucan and
Tracy Grosvenor, Sr., received a fixed monthly salary during the
entire period. Kinnucan, the AlIA's highest-paid employee, managed
the association's business operations, and Grosvenor piloted the
boat between the island and the mainland. A step below Kinnucan
on the pay scale were Peter Oien, Jessie Smith, and John Alaleski, all
92 Paul Maleski, Jr., interview by the
authors, 26 July 1997.
93 Alanitou Island Association Accounts
Journal; Paul Maleski, Jr., interview by
the authors, 26 July 1997.
95
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 3.14. Orchard workers, ca. 1928.
During the 1920s the MIA hired many
island residents, including several women
and children, to harvestthe association's
crops of sweet and tart cherries.
Workers were paid on a per-pound-
picked basis.
94 Manitou Island Association, Ac-
counts Journal.
95 Mechanical cherry harvesters "were
invented after the Manitou Island
Association ceased cherry production in
1955.
of whom supervised various aspects of the MIA's agricultural
enterprise. The remaining men were laborers working at various
chores. Their monthly pay was calculated on a daily or hourly basis.
In addition to this core workforce, the AHA hired extra workers —
mostly island residents — from time to time throughout the year. 94
The annual cherry harvest was the MIA's most labor-inten-
sive seasonal task (figure 3.14). 95 The association hired additional
workers each year during the cherry picking season in early August.
Alany of these seasonal employees were women and children, all of
whom were paid according to the number of pounds they picked.
As revealed by the MIA accounts, the labor force required for cherry
harvests grew progressively larger. During 1925 the AHA employed
twenty-four persons. In 1926 the association hired 37 cherry pickers,
most of whom appear to be familial relatives of other AHA workers
and North Alanitou residents. The 1927 cherry picking crew con-
sisted of 49 persons; more than half were women, and at least eight
were children. The 1928 cherry picking crew consisted of 37 work-
ers, at least 22 of them women, and at least six children; in August
of that year another crew of sixteen women and two men were
employed "thinning apples." The 1929 cherry harvest crew con-
sisted of 57 workers, including at least 35 women; they picked a
total of 60,519 pounds of cherries, and each was paid $0.0125 per
pound for their labor. By 1929, the MIA's roster of regular employ-
ees had increased to fifty-five names. The list included nine women,
96
Cultivating a Comfortable Wilderness
x
most of whom were employed during the month of October,
probably harvesting or packing apples. 96 The MIA used its control of
the labor market to generate additional revenue by selling the
service of its employees and draft animals to other island residents.
Katie Shepard, Nicholas Feilen, Paul Maleski, Sr., and Alvar
Bournique all used MIA farm laborers to accomplish various chores.
Bournique and Shepard were the most frequent patrons of MIA
farm labor.
The Manitou Island Association not only dominated the
island labor market, but also controlled other aspects of the local
economy. MIA Employees returned substantial portions of their
monthly earnings to the association through purchases of dairy
products, meat, fruits and vegetables, wood, and prepared meals.
Most, if not all, of the dairy products, pork, wood, and ice produced
by the MIA were sold back to the company's employees or to other
island residents. Only cattle, beef, apples, cherries, maple syrup, and
fish were exported in significant quantities from the island to pur-
chasers in Leland, Traverse City Provemont, and Chicago. 97
During autumn 1925 the MIA stocked its newly-constructed
company store. After 1925, eggs, butter, beef and pork — commodi-
ties which previously had been sold directly to employees and island
residents — were conveyed through the store (figure 3.15). Develop-
ment of the store gave the AHA a near monopoly on grocery goods,
many of which were imported from external sources. Although the
store strengthened the MIAs position in the island economy, it also
helped integrate North Manitou with the larger national economy.
Commodities that previously had been produced on the island now
faced competition from national, mass-produced goods. By 1926 the
MIA store was procuring butter from "Hansen Bros.," and eggs from
"Plamonda & Belanger." The store routinely acquired items from
the Detroit Bakery Co., and the "National Groc. Co." In 1927 the
store purchased 222 pounds of pork and 543 pounds of beef from
an outside source, and meats from Swift & Co. In 1928 a single
meat order from Swift & Co. totaled $828.28. Accordingly, the
Figure 3.15. Manitou Island Association
store, 1925. The activities of the MIA
contributed to the evolution of a modern
cash economy on the island during the
1920s and 1930s, a system thatbecame
more circularyetincreasingly linked with
the largernational economy. Forexample,
after 1925 the M IA imported staples such as
meat, eggs, and butterfrom mainland
suppliers and in turn sold them to its
employees and other islanders through the
"company store/The Manitou Island
Association store gave island residents
directaccess to ready-to-eatgrocery items,
and various mass-produced or
manufactured goods, but it also
imparted even greater control of the
island economy to the MIA.
96 The MIA maintained separate rosters
for cherry harvest crews and other
itinerant employees.
97 Manitou Island Association Accounts
Journal.
97
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
98 Ibid.
99 Rusco, North Manitou Island, 18.
Vera Crites Goos, interview by Betty
L. Mann, 15 and 18 June 1993.
101 I. H. Bartlett, "North Mamtou
Island's Deer Herd," Michigan Conserva-
tion, September 1944, 10.
102 Edgar McKee, "North Manitou
Island 1937-1942," n.d. [ca. 1992],
Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore, Empire, Mich. McKee "was
MIA business manager during 1937-
1942.
103 McKee, "North Manitou Island
1937-1942;" Jean Lundquist, interview
by Eric MacDonald, Leland, Mich., 27
June 1999, notes filed at Sleeping Bear
Dunes National Lakeshore, Empire,
Mich.
MIA's production of commodities such as butter, eggs, and meat
appears to have declined after 1926. 98
Oral accounts suggest that the Manitou Island Association's
general pattern of agricultural production, which emphasized cherry
and apple cultivation, continued through the 1930s. In fact, by the
early 1930s the MIA probably had become dependent on a success-
ful cherry crop for its profitability. Rusco states that the association
suffered a financial loss during 1931-32 due to the low price offered
for the island cherries. She notes that the MIA cherry orchards went
unharvested for at least one season." The island's apple crop may
have been a more dependable source of revenue during this period.
According to Vera Crites Goos, who lived on North Manitou Island
during the late 1930s, William Angell used the apples as special
gifts. The MIA hired Goos and other island residents to pack Christ-
mas gift boxes for Mr. Angell's personal friends and business associ-
ates. Goos remembered packing each box with approximately one
peck of hand-polished red and green apples, maple syrup, and red
and green jellies. 100
MIA Production Takes a New Direction
Beginning in the 1930s, the MIA's fruit sales were augmented by
revenue generated from a new commodity — venison. Within a
decade after it was introduced, the North Manitou deer herd had
increased to a population that was large enough to sustain hunting.
The AHA had purchased the original animals from a licensed deer
breeder, probably William G Mather's Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Com-
pany, headquartered in Ishpeming, Michigan, which was managing
an introduced deer population on Grand Island in Lake Superior.
The North Manitou deer were thus the exclusive property of the
Manitou Island Association. Unlike wild deer, which were the
property of the State of Michigan, the MIA's deer were not subject
to state hunting restrictions. The animals could be "harvested" by
the MIA at any time, in any manner. The association's deer thus had
the status of domestic livestock.
The MIA's policy was "to manage the herd to obtain the
greatest possible return from the largest number of deer that can be
maintained on the island." 101 Sometime during the late 1920s or
1930s the MIA acquired hunting rights to the few island properties
that it did not own. The association also obtained a state breeder's
license, allowing the association to manage the deer herd as a profit-
making business venture. 102 The Association began artificial feeding
to help the deer through the winter of 1937-38. Thereafter, winter
feeding was an annual activity that utilized alfalfa and oats raised on
the island. Around the same time, the MIA began using the island's
apple crop as additional deer feed. The first hunt, which occurred in
1937, yielded eighteen animals. Deer hunts were largely the exclu-
sive privilege of the MIA's invited guests. 103 The island's deer were
hunted not only for sport, however; the animals were harvested
98
Cultivating a Comfortable Wilderness
systematically by MIA employees, and the flesh sold to external
markets as distant as New York City. 104 The venture thus had a
quasi-agricultural nature. The entire island landscape effectively
functioned as a vast ranch where white tailed deer were the
husbanded livestock, and venison flesh was the marketable com-
modity. According Edgar McKee, the added income from deer hunts
turned "a very costly hobby into a very profitable business." McKee
also noted that the MIAs fruit sales also expanded considerably
during his 1937-1942 tenure as island manager. 105
The Manitou Island Association apparently achieved pecuni-
ary success despite the virtually complete disintegration of the rest
of the island community during the 1930s. The island lost a sub-
stantial portion of its population following closure of the U.S.
government light house and Coast Guard Station in 1933. Depopu-
lation deprived the Association of a substantial portion of its labor
force, as well as a local, albeit small, market for meat and dairy
products. By the mid-1930s the MIA was forced to hire migrant
workers to replace the island's resident labor force during the fruit
harvests. During the 1930s, the orchard work crews consisted
mostly of American Indians who came to the island from communi-
ties on the mainland. Rita Hadra Rusco recalled that the migrant
workers, totaling sixty to seventy people for the 1942 cherry har-
vest, came from Alabama, Arkansas, Missouri, and Tennessee.
During World War II migrant farm labor was scarce, prompting the
association to import labor from outside of the country. In 1943 and
1944 the AHA imported about fifty male workers from Jamaica.
They were housed in the pickers' cabins and ate meals in a
cookhouse located near the MIA sawmill. During the 1945 and
1946 seasons workers came from Mexico. Jean Lundquist recalled
that for three seasons during the 1940s, workers came from the
Boys Club of Detroit, a charity that Angell supported. 106
Decline of MIA Agriculture
Following the death of William Angell in 1950, ultimate decision-
making authority over the MIAs operation passed from a single
individual to the board of the Angell Foundation. A local historian
noted in 1951 that "fruit culture is still one of the main activities of
the island." She noted that during the summer Tracy Grosvenor
transported the entire harvest of cherries and the cherry pickers. 107
Four years later, however, cherry production ceased on North
Manitou. The trees were well past their productive peak by then. A
total of approximately 100 acres had been devoted to cherry pro-
duction on the island from the mid-1920s to 1955. 108 The founda-
tion board scaled back the MIAs agricultural activities, and concen-
trated on managing the island as an exclusive hunting and fishing
resort. With the exception of the orchards and deer feeding pro-
gram, the MIAs agricultural endeavors were discontinued. Accord-
ing to Rusco, during the mid-1950s, the foundation also abandoned
104 Rusco, North Manitou Island, 43.
105 McKee, "North Manitou Island
1937-1942."
106 Lundquist, interview; Rusco, North
Manitou Island, 22-23, 89-91.
Julia Terry Dickinson, The Story of
Leelanau (Omena, Mich.: Solle's
Bookshop, 1951), 45.
[Charles Brown] "Prekminary Report
of Chairman of Commission After
Taking Additional Testimony, Re:
North Manitou Island." United States
of America Y. Security Trust Company,
et al and Unknown Owners; Detroit
Bank and Trust Company, Trustee, et al,
and Unknown Owners, U S. District
Court for the Western District of
Michigan, Southern Division, 18
January 1983, Angell Foundation
Collection, Sleeping Bear Dunes
National Lakeshore, Empire, Mich.;
[Myron H. Ross and Robert A.
Steadman]. "Prekminary Report of
Commission." According to testimony
taken during the condemnation
hearings for North Manitou Island, the
kfe-span of a cherry orchard "was
estimated to be 27 years. The young
trees begin to bear fruit when they are 7-
9 years old, and thereafter produce
cherries for approximately twenty years
before declining.
99
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 3.16. Maple syrup label, ca.
1960s. The Manitou Island Association
produced maple syrup on North
Manitou during the 1920s, but may have
abandoned the practice after much of
the island's resident labor force left the
island during the early 1930s.
Contemporary accounts suggest that the
MIA again sold syrup under its own label
during the 1960s and early 1970s. It
seems plausible thatthe association, which
sought to bolster its sport hunting and
fishing business during this time,
packaged the syrup for sale to
sportsmen as souvenirs of their visit to
the island.
t
PURE
/
NET
CONTENTS
t PINT
MAPLE SYRUP
MADE BY
MANITOU ISLAND ASSOCIATION
MQRTJf M.AN]TCOJ ISLAH& MICHIGAN
109 "Folk on North Manitou Island Use
Absentee Voter Ballots," Muskegon
Chronicle, 8 October 1958.
110 Rusco, North Manitou Island, 131;
Jean Lundquist recalled that during the
1940s, the MIA operated a sugar bush
located "west of the schoolhouse and
south cherry orchards. The syrup was
packaged and sold to island visitors, but
otherwise it "was not marketed commer-
cially
111 G. Howard Gillelan, "Bowhunter's
Paradise," OutdoorTife, (n.d., ca. 1966 or
1967), 20-?
112 I. H. Bartlett, The North Manitou
Island Deer Herd: A History and Suggested
Management Plan (Lansing: Deer
Investigations, Game Division,
Department of Conservation, 4
February 1944), 3.
the fields that had been planted with alfalfa and oats for deer forage,
and began importing feed exclusively from mainland sources. A
1958 newspaper article about North Manitou Island noted that
"farms are deserted, large cherry and apple orchards have outlived
th
eir use
fuln
ess. '
Although the "long-time practice of producing maple syrup"
on the island also ended during the 1950s if not earlier, the founda-
tion may have revived maple sugar production several years later. 110
The Betty Kramer Collection of the Leelanau Historical Museum
contains a syrup packaging label from ca. 1960 (figure 3.16). In the
late-1960s, an article published in the hunting and fishing magazine
Outdoor Ufe noted that "in addition to game, North Manitou pro-
duces some excellent maple syrup." 111 However, the Betty Kramer
Collection also contains another, redesigned, label from ca. 1971
that indicates that the product was "packed for Manitou Island
Association," suggesting that the syrup may not have been made on
the island. Whether it was produced on the island or not, the foun-
dation clearly did not view maple syrup, or any of its other tradi-
tional products, as the focus of its business.
After 1955 the MIAs principal commodity was venison. This
change certainly reflected the foundation board's desire to stream-
line the operation of the AHA, although the shift in emphasis may
have begun a decade earlier. In 1944 one observer noted that the
association's apple orchards had "not been worked extensively
during the last year or two." 112 Under the MIAs management pro-
gram the island deer population rose dramatically. In 1943, just six
100
Cultivating a Comfortable Wilderness
years after the island's first deer hunt, at least 256 deer were "har-
vested." 113
In the mid-1940s the MIA worked with Ilo H. Bartlett, a
Michigan Department of Conservation wildlife biologist, to develop
a management plan for the herd. Bartlett speculated that the island
herd may have been as large as 1500 animals in 1944. On one
occasion Bartlett counted 250 individuals in a single field. Bartlett
recommended that the MIA maintain the island deer herd near 1600
animals, or 70 to 75 animals per square mile. This would provide
the association with a sustained annual "take" of about 400 ani-
mals. He developed two game management plans, one "conserva-
tive," the other "liberal." The conservative plan reduced the herd to
the carrying capacity of the island's natural winter food supply.
Thereafter, the AHA would manipulate sex ratios so that the maxi-
mum fawn production would assure the "maximum harvestable
crop." The liberal plan was to be implemented if the income from
the deer herd justified artificial feeding. The herd was to be in-
creased in line with income and costs, and as long as the herd
remained healthy. Because the danger of epidemics and parasite
infestations increased with the larger population, facilities were
required to quickly remove large numbers of deer before natural
losses became serious. 114
Apparently implementing Bartlett's "liberal" management
strategy, the MIA continued artificial feeding of the deer herd.
During the 1940s and 1950s, supplemental forage was placed in
wooden cherry boxes, or "lugs," which were scattered throughout
the island. These were later replaced by a smaller number of large
feed troughs. During the 1950s at least, it is questionable whether
artificial feeding was economically viable, since in 1956 the founda-
tion revived logging on the island in order to off-set the cost of the
deer feeding program. 115 Perhaps in a further attempt to reduce
costs, the MIA developed a special food pellet from a cereal
byproduct made by the Kellogg Company in Battle Creek, Michi-
gan. 116 The pellets were distributed among the island feeding station
by tractor and, later, by snowmobile. 117
By the mid-1960s about 300 deer were harvested annually
from what was touted as "the only licensed deer farm in Michi-
gan." 118 During the 1965 season, hunters took 161 deer and the MIA
harvested an additional 135 animals for the venison market. Al-
though the MIA lodge served venison steaks for breakfast, the
association sold most of the meat to a commercial venison pur-
veyor. 119 During the 1970s the AHA sold venison to a supermarket in
Traverse City. 120 The last deer hunt organized by the AHA occurred
during the 1977-78 season and yielded a harvest of 507 animals.
The herd also was last supplementally fed in 1977-78, though not as
heavily as previously 121 A newspaper article reported that during
1978 and 1979 the AHA attempted to reduce the island herd to 150
113 Bartlett, North Manitou Island Deer
Herd,U.
114 Bartlett, North Manitou Island Deer
Herd, 5-11.
115 Gordon Charles, "Swiss Family
Manitou," Detroit News Magazine, 23
March 1980, 34-36; 38.
116 Bartlett, North Manitou Island Deer
Herd.
117 Lundquist, interview.
:1S "Deer Hunting Ends on North
Manitou," Heelanau Enterprise, 8
December 1960, n.p.
119 Gillelan, "Bowhunter's Paradise."
120 Gordon Charles, "Swiss Family
Manitou."
121 Dale R. McCullough and David J.
Case, "The White -tailed Deer of North
Manitou Island, Michigan" (Empire,
Mich.: Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore, National Park Service, 13
August 1982), 13.
101
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
122 Gordon Charles, "Swiss Family
Manitou."
123 "Judge to Decide Value of North
Manitou Island," Traverse City Record
Eagk,23 May 1983, 3.
124 "D e f enc l an t' s Objections to
Preliminary Report of Commission
(Majority)," United States of America
V Security Trust Company, et al. and
Unknown Owners; Detroit Bank and
Trust Company, Trustee, et al, and
Unknown Owners, U S. District Court
for the Western District of Michigan,
Southern Division, dated and served 14
February 1983, Angell Foundation
Collection, Sleeping Bear Dunes
National Lakeshore, Empire, Mich.
125 [Myron H. Ross and Robert A.
Steadman], "Preliminary Report of
Commission."
126 "Defendant's Objections to Prelimi-
nary Report of Commission (Major-
ity)."
127 Ibid.
128 [Myron H. Ross and Robert A.
Steadman], 'Treliminary Report of
Commission."
animals in anticipation of condemnation of the island by the Na-
tional Park Service. 122
Requiem for the Cultivated Wilderness
The story of agriculture on North Manitou closes with the discon-
tinuance of the Manitou Island Association "deer farm." However,
during the lengthy court proceedings that extended through the early
1980s, the island's agricultural history was exploited by the Angell
Foundation in its argument for greater compensation from the
National Park Service. After the National Park Service's initial offer
was refused by the foundation, a federal court appointed a three-
member commission to determine the island's market value. The
commission was unable to reach consensus. Two members favored
the $9.2 million purchase price presented by the federal government,
while one member sided with the foundation's estimate of $19.2
million. The government's price was based on utilizing the island for
recreation, while the foundation eventually focused its estimate on
converting much of the island into a large-scale cherry production
operation. 123 The foundation objected to the majority opinion of the
commission, questioning the commission's interpretation of the
island's timber and cherry production potential. 124
To bolster its case for a higher real estate valuation, the
foundation hired a private consultant, Paul Scott, to prepare a
feasibility study for producing cherries on the island. The
foundation's proposal called for the development of cherry orchards
on approximately 7,500 acres of land in the island's interior. This
acreage was to be divided among ten 1,000-acre farms, which would
be cleared and planted over a ten year period. Scott included the
cost of a packing plant and dock in his computations. In addition,
each farmer was to contribute $2 million toward the construction of
a $20 million processing plant. 125 The study compared the cost of
producing cherries on the island versus the mainland.
During court proceedings, Scott testified that a pound of
cherries could be produced on North Manitou Island cheaper than a
pound of cherries on the mainland. 126 Countering Scott's testimony,
the government's expert witness, Myron Kelsey, claimed that the
production costs would be equal on both sides of the Manitou
Passage. 127 The crucial factor in determining the economic feasibility
of the foundation's scheme was the initial cost of developing the
ten cherry farms. Approximately 70-75 per cent of the acreage
would have to be cleared of timber in order for cherry production to
take place. One of the government appraisers concluded that "no
value should be assigned to the growing of cherries on the interior
land of the island." The commission ultimately determined that the
interior land could not be economically used for agriculture, and
concluding that the highest and best use of the island was for
recreation. 128 After five years of litigation, the purchase price for the
island was ultimately set in September 1983 when U.S. District
102
Cultivating a Comfortable Wilderness
Judge Noel B. Fox set the final figure at $12.2 million. 129 The judge
determined that the foundation's cherry orchard scheme was not
feasible. 130 The matter was finally settled in June 1984, clearing the
way for the National Park Service to implement its own vision of a
"comfortable wilderness." 131
An Assessment of Agriculture on North Manitou
Agriculture on North Manitou Island did not follow a clear, linear
progression from pre-technic practices to small, subsistence farms to
large, corporate enterprises catering to national and international
markets. Nevertheless, the scale of agricultural activity on the island
certainly reflected this continuum, and several historical events can
be associated with the general pattern suggested by Mumford's and
Dandekar and Schoof 's models. As noted in the previous chapter,
archaeological evidence suggests that aboriginal agriculture was not
practiced on North Manitou Island, and possibly was not prevalent
in any portion of the national lakeshore, at least during prehistoric
times. The history of agriculture on North Manitou Island thus lacks
a significant "pre-technic" phase.
Eotechnic practices may have impacted the island as early as
the mid-1 840s, and during certain periods the scale of eotechnic
agriculture on North Manitou Island was atypical within the
lakeshore region. Eotechnic strategies persisted well into the mid-
twentieth century, coexisting on the island with paleotechnic and
neotechnic enterprises. Furthermore, paleotechnic practices
emerged almost simultaneously with neotechnic agriculture, which
achieved its most highly evolved manifestation on North Manitou
Island: no other historic agricultural enterprise within the current
boundaries of the national lakeshore represents the distinctive
production and managerial strategies of neotechnic agriculture
better than the farming operation of the Manitou Island Syndicate
and its later incarnation, the Manitou Island Association.
Agriculture was practiced on North Manitou Island for
nearly a century. During that time the scale and intensity of agricul-
tural activities varied greatly. It is difficult to assess the role of
agriculture in shaping the island landscape without also considering
the other types of human activities that concurrently produced
changes. Logging certainly was the most intensive and extensive
human industry on the island (figure 3.17). The island's forests were
harvested more-or-less continually over a period of 150 years, with
shorter periods of intensive logging that dramatically altering the
ecological and aesthetic character of the landscape. Other activities,
such as fishing and recreation tourism, also had an impact on the
environment.
Agriculture functioned in tandem with these other enter-
prises. Few families made their living primarily from farming, at least
for more than a short period. In fact, many islanders pursued a
combination of these activities for subsistence. Agricultural prod-
129 Fritz, "History Data Report," 38.
130 "$1 1 million-plus Price Tag Is Set by
Judge as Value of North Alanitou
Island Property," Leelanau Enterprise and
Tribune, 22 September 1983, 1.
131 Dale W. Rhoades to Wilbur H.
Davis, Blake Forslund, William M.
Skillman, Clifford H. Higgins and Avery
Wing, 5 June 1984, Angell Foundation
Collection, Sleeping Bear Dunes
National Lakeshore, Empire, Mich.
103
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 3.17. The impact of logging on
the landscape of North Manitou Island
certainly was more extensive than
agriculture. Yet the these two human
endeavors often functioned in tandem.
Paul Maleski, Jr., interview with the
authors, 26 July 1997.
ucts found markets in the lumber camps, among summer tourists
and recreationists, and in the U.S. Coast Guard Station and light-
house. Such local markets were vital, as transporting commodities
from the island became increasingly costly and difficult during the
twentieth century.
Together, the stories of the Maleski family and the Manitou
Island Association encapsulate much of the history of agriculture
on North Manitou Island. Each story contains the essential pattern
that characterized agriculture on the island: small-scale, subsistence
agriculture coexisting with extensive, commercial agriculture.
Although the intensity of activities and the identities of proprietors
changed, both types of agriculture functioned on the island for
approximately a century. With the exception of the Maleskis'
relatively short-lived beef cattle venture, none of the island's small,
independent farms significantly evolved beyond subsistence agricul-
ture. None progressed to Mumford's "neotechnic" phase — even the
Maleski farm never used automated farm machinery, but instead
relied exclusively on draft animals throughout its history 132 It thus
existed on the borderline between Mumford's paleotechnic and
eotechnic forms of agriculture. The island's various large-scale
farms, however, were of two types: "subsistence" operations that
functioned to support timber extraction, and commercial ventures
that were financed largely by outside capital. In both cases, these
large-scale farms tended to be controlled by absentee landowners,
administered by professional managers, and operated by paid farm
laborers.
Like other patterns of human activity on North Manitou
Island, modes of agricultural production were affected greatly by the
104
Cultivating a Comfortable Wilderness
island's peculiar "boom-or-bust" economic cycles. Human settle-
ment on the island never constituted a sufficiently large or depend-
able local market for agricultural commodities. Except during
periods of extensive logging, the island's population was too small,
by itself, to support commercial agriculture. Construction of the
U.S. Life-Saving Service Station provided the island with a meager
non-farm population, as did development of the Cottage Row
summer resort; nonetheless, the local economy remained too insig-
nificant to support more than one or two market gardeners. When
the island population swelled during times of logging activity,
company-owned farms monopolized much of the local market for
meat, dairy products, fruits and vegetables, and livestock fodder.
Because there was no local market for cash crops, indepen-
dent farmers were faced with the problem of transporting cash
crops to distant markets, a dilemma faced by any agriculturist
engaging in commercial agriculture, but one that was even more
vexing for islanders. The island's early transportation advantage
vanished as coal-fueled steamers replaced wood-burning vessels on
the lakes, and railroads were developed on the mainland. Transport-
ing commodities to mainland markets became increasingly costly
and difficult during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Lack of
a natural harbor made it more difficult to dock and harbor ships. A
serviceable dock represented a substantial infrastructure investment
that only wealthy individuals such as Nicholas Pickard and Silas
Boardman could afford. Furthermore, the island was seasonally
inaccessible during early winter and early spring when the ice was
breaking up (figure 3.18). Vera Crites Goos recalled that in 1936
islanders were iced in from February 1 until after Easter. During
such periods, the feelings of isolation and loneliness experienced by
some islanders were intense. Recalled Goos, "I used to cry a good
many times ... If I could have saved all my tears, they could have
melted all the ice in the harbor." 133
Vera Crites Goos, interview.
Figure 3.18. Lack of a natural harbor
complicated transportation to and from
North Manitou Island, especially during
the late winter months when the Manitou
Passage filled with ice. Because it was
unsheltered, the village dock often
suffered damage from winter ice and
storms. Only relatively wealthy land
owners, such as Nicholas Pickard, Silas
Boardman, the Newhalls, and William
Angell, could afford the substantial
infrastructure cost of maintaining a dock
on the island.
105
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Simply marketing agricultural commodities required a capital
outlay that was beyond the means of many independent agricultur-
ists. Consequently, most of the island's small landowners adopted a
diversified subsistence strategy. In addition to agriculture, most
engaged in other activities such as wood cutting and fishing, or wage
labor with the one of the island's large landowners, the life-saving
service, or summer residents. Several island agriculturists probably
did not exclusively rely upon farming for their livelihood. Many
farmers abandoned agriculture altogether when another venture,
such as employment with a logging company, became more lucra-
tive.
Adding to the economic difficulties of North Manitou
farmers, physical factors — poor soils, lack of a natural harbor, and
geographic isolation — constrained the development of agriculture
on the island. The nutrient-poor, drought-susceptible soils that
predominate over much of the island were ill-suited to traditional
cereal and forage crops. Paul Maleski, Jr., reported that even during
the heyday of the Maleskis' cattle operation, his father was careful
to keep the size of the herd within the island's carrying capacity. He
noted that in times of drought there was a hay shortage on the
island and his father was forced to purchase hay that was shipped
from Chicago aboard a car ferry. He also recalled that during dry
summers, farmers would cut bracken fern and feed the dried ferns to
their cattle. 134
Poor soils and geographic isolation were limiting factors that
effectively dictated that commercial agriculture had to be extensive
in scale in order to be profitable. Commercial production necessarily
involved large parcels of land and was fairly specialized in order to
reliably produce enough of a commodity to make shipping it off the
island profitable. The Maleskis and other independent farmers
couldn't engage in this type of agriculture because they lacked
sufficient land and capital. The output of these farms remained
diversified, concentrating on staples required by the family. The
commercial ventures were more specialized, and tended to concen-
trate on two types of commodities: livestock and fruit. All were
financed by outside capital. Initially, this form of agriculture func-
tioned as a diversion for the wealthy, such as the "hobby farm" of
Silas Boardman. Even the Newhalls, who farmed more intensively
than Boardman, seem to have regarded their North Manitou farm as
a agrarian diversion from more serious business dealings in the
Chicago commodities market, (figure 3.19).
Large-scale, commercial farming eventually displaced
intensive, subsistence agriculture on North Manitou Island. By the
mid-1 920s the Manitou Island Association dominated the island
economy, and exploited its small labor pool and market. A circular
economy developed, with the MIA largely controlling both the
134 Paul Maleski, Jr., interview with the means of production and consumption. The MIA effectively dis-
authors, 26 July 1997. placed independent growers from the local market. As AHA employ-
106
Cultivating a Comfortable Wilderness
&*Ifc*»tf D n *£ *"- wufcn frt 'W&tK
ees, the islanders supported the system by purchasing from the
company the very commodities that their labor had produced.
Neotechnic agriculture arrived on North Manitou Island
with the Manitou Island Association. Although the Newhalls may
have implemented "scientific" agricultural methods in managing
their island fruit orchards, there is little specific information about
the techniques they employed. Their operation certainly was not as
mechanized as the MIA farm. Business records reveal that the
association purchased a new Fordson tractor for $556.50 in 1925.
That same year the MIA sold a pair of draft horses for $400.00.
Motorized vehicles played an increasingly important role in connect-
ing the vast Association operation. Trucks were used to travel
between the main farms, and to and from the scattered fields and
orchards. When weather allowed, they also were used to distribute
deer feed.
The most obvious hallmark of scientific, neotechnic, agri-
culture on North Manitou Island was the way in which the MIA
farm operation was managed. MIA shareholders were interested in
efficient management according to modern principles of business,
and employed a hierarchical management structure.
Professionalization was evident in all aspects of the MIA's business
enterprise, from deer herd management to forestry. For example, the
MIA employed a full-time farm manager, and paid John Maleski to
receive training as a professional orchard manager. Furthermore, the
landscape scale of the operation became extensive, encompassing
virtually the entire island. Corporate agriculture, as exemplified by
the MIA farm, was not traditional husbandry or a vocation, but
rather a business.
Agriculture on South Manitou and North Manitou
Islands Compared
Although similar in some respects, the agricultural history of North
Manitou Island differs markedly from that of nearby mainland
farming communities and neighboring South Manitou Island. As on
Figure 3.19. John Newhall and "Mr.
Thompson" harvesting hay on North
Manitou Island, ca. 1900. The staged
appearance of this photograph and the
caption that reads Imitation of a man at
work"suggestthatalthough the Newhalls
ran the island farm as a business, they also
regarded itas a place of escape, leaving
much of the day-to-day farm work to hired
employees.
107
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
North Manitou Island, settlement on South Manitou was initially
spurred by logging for the Great Lakes cord wood trade, followed by
the development of small, subsistence farms. On South Manitou,
several independent farmers made the transition from "general
farming" to specialized, commercial agricultural production based
on scientific agriculture. Although economically viable, South
Manitou's farms remained small and few in number. In contrast,
North Manitou's small farmers co-existed with wealthy large land
owners, and the relationship between these two classes of agricul-
turists was tenuous, if not sometimes adversarial. Especially during
the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries the interests of
these two groups clashed over grazing priveleges. Wealthy landown-
ers also appear to have gained from the economic hardships faced
by the island's small farmers, often expanding their land holdings
and agricultural production simply by purchasing already-developed
farms.
Perhaps because large tracts of the island already were
owned by wealthy, absentee landlords, the Homestead Act had no
immediate impact on North Manitou land ownership patterns. The
island's first homestead claim was not filed until eleven years after
the 1864 enactment of the Homestead Act, and seven years after
the first claim on South Manitou Island. On South Manitou, home-
steading was "the prevalent approach used to obtain agricultural
land on the island." Approximately one third of the island's total
land area, or 1,943 acres, including most of the land best suited to
agriculture, was disposed through the homestead process. 135 In
contrast, North Manitou's homestead claims totaled just over 1,428
acres, which represented less than ten percent of the island's total
area. Much of this land was in the southern portion of the island
and was poorly suited to cultivation.
The existence of a close-knit farming community encour-
aged cooperation and contributed to the success of small, indepen-
dent, owner-occupied family farms on South Manitou Island.
However, North Manitou Island's agricultural population was
significantly more transient. Subsistence farmers on North Manitou
Island engaged in a number of activities in order to eke out a
livelihood. However, many farmers abandoned agriculture alto-
gether when another venture became sufficiently lucrative. Only
three of the island's ten homesteaders are documented to have
remained on the island longer than ten years after acquiring their
patent. However, all three — Alvar Bournique, Nicholas Feilen, and
John O. Anderson — had means of support external to their own
farms, and there is no evidence to suggest that any of them engaged
in intensive agriculture on their land after receiving patents to their
claims. Perhaps many homesteaders did not view their claims as life-
long agricultural ventures. Instead, they may have considered them
Williams et al, 'Coming through with short-term investments that eventually would be sold in hopes of
Rye, '31. realizing a modest profit. Use of the homestead process for specula-
135
108
Cultivating a Comfortable Wilderness
tive purposes may have been common in marginal environments
such as islands. 136 North Manitou Island thus lacked the stable,
socially cohesive farm community that existed on South Manitou
Island.
Like the farmers on North Manitou, the South Manitou
farming community faced marketing problems due to geographic
isolation. However, a unique event transformed South Manitou's
remoteness into an asset. On South Manitou, the phase of scientific
agriculture began in 1918 when Michigan State University research-
ers began using the island for production of Rosen Rye seed. Seed
production of Rosen rye and, later, Michelite beans, simultaneously
depended upon the island's geographic isolation and the existence
of a stable, cohesive community of farmers. 137 In turn, rye provided
South Manitou farmers with a market that was reliable and special-
ized enough to off-set the island's geographic disadvantages. Agri-
cultural production thus remained economically viable due to the
external provided by the university. Agricultural production on
North Manitou Island also became increasingly specialized century
(e.g., fruit and venison) during the early twentieth. Lacking external
institutional assistance, however, specialized production could only
be attempted by wealthy individuals or corporate entities who
possessed extensive capital reserves. Intensive, commercial agricul-
ture was beyond the means of most North Manitou farmers.
Agriculture and Landscape Change
Landscape change is a never-ending phenomenon that results from
both the activities and ideas of humans and from forces of non-
human nature. Changes may be cyclical; they may result from
additive or subtractive processes. Change may occur so gradually as
to be perceivable only over very large time scales. Such transforma-
tion is almost always subtle. However, change also may be sudden,
drastic, even cataclysmic. Landscape change on North Manitou
exemplifies both tendencies — gradual, continuous evolution punctu-
ated by major events such as a catastrophic storm or a flurry of
logging activity. We may be less conscious of gradual changes, but
they are no less far-reaching and long-lasting Agriculture displays
both of these tendencies as well.
The Manitou Island Association venison ranch blurred
distinctions between traditional animal husbandry and wildlife
management. The ranch is just one subtle, yet extensive, way in
which agriculture shaped the landscape of North Manitou Island,
and it demonstrates how the legacy of agriculture continues to
influence the landscape, not only ecologically, but also aesthetically,
and in terms of our mental picture. It also suggests how deeply the
landscape, with all of its diverse constitutional lifeforms, is con-
structed by human values. Today, the North Manitou deer herd
serves as a reminder of the island's human history, even though
136 For an account of a similar land
tenure pattern at the Apostle Islands in
Lake Superior, see Arnold R. Alanen
and William H. Tishler, "Farming the
Lake Superior shore: Agriculture and
Horticulture on the Apostle Islands,
1840-1940," Wisconsin Magazine of
History, 79(3): 163-203 (Spring 1996).
137 Williams et al, 'Coming through with
Rye.'
109
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
most observers probably do not see in them "the hand of human-
kind."
The story of agriculture on North Manitou Island clearly is
unique within the lakeshore. In terms of scope and scale, only the
activities of D. H. Day on the mainland compare with the endeavors
undertaken by North Manitou's large landowners. Unlike Day's
various ventures, however, North Manitou's farms were developed
by absentee landowners who represented external capital. The
North Manitou story thus represents the Sleeping Bear Dunes
region's strong economic connections with other parts of the Mid-
west. Contrary to being mundane, such stories may be more mean-
ingful in today's cultural context, and they may be most clearly
discerned in well-preserved vernacular, or "ordinary," landscapes
such as North Manitou Island. The North Manitou Island landscape
is a product of its history. It is an accumulation, an accretion of the
effects of people and events acting over time. As such, the land-
scape embodies fundamental human relationships between nature
and time. The history of the North Manitou landscape is a story
about these relationships, and agriculture is foremost among these.
It is a story etched on the land in simple houses, grand barns,
overgrown hedgerows, neatly-spaced fruit trees, and clearings
carved out of the woods.
110
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
Chapter Four
Description and
Analysis of
Individual Sites
Cultural resources associated with historic agricultural activities
survive with varying degrees of integrity on North Manitou Island.
This chapter provides a description of these resources, as well as a
more detailed account of the role that various landscapes played in
the history of agriculture on the island. Discussions of specific
resources are organized into four categories according levels of
physical integrity: (1) sites with standing structures; (2) sites with
structural ruins; (3) sites with cultural landscape remnants, and (4)
farms with no extant features (figure 4.1). In addition to agricultural
sites, this chapter includes brief descriptions of several significant
non-farm-related properties, specifically, the summer homes of
Cottage Row and the buildings of the North Manitou U.S. Life-
Saving Service Station (figure 4.2).
Sites with Standing
Structures
Manitou Island Syndicate / Manitou Island
Association North Manitou Village Farm Complex
NW 74, SE 'A, Section 34, T-32N R-15W
History and Agricultural Data 1
The business organization initially known as the Manitou Island
Syndicate, and later as the Manitou Island Association (MIA),
dominated North Manitou agriculture during the mid-1920s through
the 1940s. Although the association undertook various agricultural
and quasi-agricultural endeavors throughout its extensive island land Three.
' This section focuses on the agricultural
landscapes and structures that "were built
and utilized by the Manitou Island
Association. For a more detailed account
of the MIA's farming enterprise on
North Manitou Island, see Chapter
111
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
John Maleski
homestead
Adam Maleski
farmstead
orchard workers'
cabins
North Manitou
Village /Ml A farm
Crescent townsite /
MIA west-side farm
Bournique
homestead
KEY
^ = site with standing
structure(s)
O = site with ruin(s)
| | = agricultural clearing
HH1 = dunes / beach
r3£33= woodland
Johnson
place
Frederickson
place
Anderson
farmstead
Alstrom/Stormer
farmstead
North
=1=
1
mile
North Manitou Island
Sites Associated with Historic Agricultural Activities
FIGURE 4.1
Drawing by Eric MacDonald and Katie Franks
112
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
'
•\%.
Figure 4.133 q
Wh£°.
Figure 4.12
Manitou Island Syndicate /
Manitou Island Associaticn
farm complex
Figure 4.99
^g, U.S. life-saving station
Lake Michigan
Figure 4.110
North
Scale
(approximate)
1 00' 200'
North Manitou Village
Key to Detailed Site Plans
FIGURE 4.2
Drawing by Eric MacDonald and Katie Franks
113
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 4.3. Employees ofthe Newhalls
pose in frontof one ofthe large timber-
frame barns builtby Silas R. Boardman
during the 1880s.
Figure 4.4. The "farmhouse/'ca. 1910s.
This structure served as the Boardman
family's North Manitou home. The house
subsequently was owned by the Newhall
family, the Manitou Island Syndicate, and
the Manitou Island Association. Itwas
destroyed by fire sometime in the late
1920s.
2 Rita Hadra Rusco, "North Manitou
Island: Between Sunrise and Sunset, (n.p.:
Book Crafters, 1991), 18.
holdings, the syndicate's farming activities were centered on the
eastern side of the island near North Manitou Village, and near the
western shore at the former farmstead of Peter Swenson. During
the late 1920s the MIA developed an extensive complex of build-
ings at the northern edge of North Manitou Village to function as a
headquarters for its island activities. This complex occupied the site
of Silas R. Boardman's former farmstead, which subsequently had
been owned by the Newhall family before it was acquired by the
Manitou Island Syndicate (figures 4.3 and 4.4). The principal dwell-
ing of the MIA complex, a building known as the "farmhouse," may
have been constructed by Silas Boardman. Rita Hadra Rusco
recalled that the farmhouse was "a huge frame structure located
near the site of the present-day stone office building." Rusco noted
that the house "was built during the early 1880s and provided
accommodations for tourists and summer guests during the prosper-
ous resort years." 2 This building was destroyed by fire during the late
114
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
Figure 4.5. M anitou Island Association barn during construction, 1927. The large, modern,
gambrel-roofed barn was the centerpiece of the MIA's farmstead at North M anitou Village. It
was builton a site amidstthe farm formerly operated by Silas Boardman and the Newhalls.
1920s. 3 No other farm buildings from the Boardman and Newhall
periods survive.
In 1927, the Manitou Island Association constructed a large
gambrel-roofed barn on the beach ridge north of Cottage Row
(figure 4.5). 4 Members of the barn building crew included Paul
Papa, Alike Pohaulski, John King, and Barney Stanislowski from
Cedar, and William Leo from Suttons Bay. The barn foundation was
built by Mike Hoef. 5 The MIA also paid Nicholas Feilen $233.90 for
"carpenter work" in October 1927, perhaps for labor related to the
construction of the barn or other outbuildings. 6 The MIA used the
structure to support its dairy operation, and to pack and store the
annual cherry and deer harvests until they could be shipped to the
mainland. The barn may have been used last as a dairy facility during
the mid-1930s. 7 Since the Angell Foundation continued to harvest
cherries on the island into the early 1950s, the barn may have been
used for temporary fruit storage until that time. During NPS fall deer
hunts, the barn's basement-level cold-storage room continues to serve
its original function.
Below the beach ridge, south of the barn and the barnyard,
the MIA constructed a sawmill. According to Fritz, the structure
was erected in 1928. 8 The mill's equipment came from Peter
Stormer's sawmill on the southeastern end of the island. 9 The mill
supported the MIA's farming operations, producing lumber and
cedar shingles for making repairs, and for constructing buildings
such as cabins for migrant orchard workers. The MIA mill never
engaged in continuous commercial production. 10 It was active during
the 1930s, but may have operated for the last time during World
War II. 11 Michigan Department of Conservation biologist Ho H.
Bartlett noted that the sawmill operated during the 1942-43 winter,
3 Josephine Alford Hollister, "The
Summer Resort on North Manitou
Island," February 1989, Sleeping Bear
Dunes National Lakeshore, Empire,
Mich.
4 Giles E. Merritt, "U.S. Coast Guard N.
Manitou Isl. Events 1925-28," 26
August 1991, Sleeping Bear Dunes
National Lakeshore, Empire, Mich.;
David L. Fritz, "Eastside Barn," Draft
National Register of Historic Places
Registration Form, 25 September 1987,
Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore, Empire, Mich.
5 Fritz, "Eastside Bam;" Fritz's source
■was an interview with Julia (Craker)
Kinnucan.
6 Manitou Island Association Accounts
Journal, September 1924 - December
1929, MIA Collection, Sleeping Bear
Dunes National Lakeshore, Empire,
Mich.
7 Jean Lundquist, interview by Eric
MacDonald, Leland, Mich., 27 June
1999, notes filed at Sleeping Bear Dunes
National Lakeshore, Empire, Mich.
8 David L. Fritz, "North Manitou
Village Sawmill," Draft National
Register of Historic Places Registration
Form, 14 September 14, 1987, Sleeping
Bear Dunes National Lakeshore,
Empire, Mich.
9 Josephine Alford Hollister, "The
Sawmill," February 1989, Sleeping Bear
Dunes National Lakeshore, Empire,
Mich.
10 Hollister, "Sawmill;" Fritz, "North
Manitou Village Sawmill."
11 Hollister, "Sawmill;" Fritz, "North
Manitou Village Sawmill."
115
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
12 I. H. Bartlett, The North Manitou Island
Deer Herd: A History and Suggested
Management Plan (Lansing: Deer
Investigations, Game Division,
Department of Conservation, 4
February 1944), 3. The "overmature"
timber mentioned by Bartlett may have
been located in a tract of approximately
sixty acres of virgin sugar maple, yellow
birch (Befula alleghaniensis), and hemlock
located in the southeastern portion of
Section 21, T32N, R14W, which was
noted on p. 2 of his report.
13 Kim Mann to Ellyn Goldkyn, 24 July
1994, Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore, Empire, Mich.
14 Lundquist, interview.
15 Rusco, North Manitou Island, 93.
16 David L. Fritz, "History Data Report
on North Manitou Island, Leelanau
County, Michigan" (Denver: National
Park Service, April 1987), 28; Fritz's
source is Giles E. Merritt.
Giles E. Merritt, untitled manuscript,
11 February 1986, Sleeping Bear Dunes
National Lakeshore, Empire, Mich.
processing timber blown down during a 1940 storm. Bartlett also
noted that logging was occurring "in the patch of over-mature virgin
timber of the northern end of the island." 12
Following completion of the barn and sawmill, the MIA
added other, smaller structures to the farm complex. The most
significant of these was an equipment shed for storing and servicing
farm machinery. According to George Grosvenor, the equipment
shed was built sometime during the 1930s. The shed housed equip-
ment used by the MIA for its deer hunting and agricultural opera-
tions, including a thresher. 13 Jean Lundquist recalled that she and
other island residents would service their vehicles at the MIA barn/
equipment shed area during the 1940s and 1950s. 14 Other outbuild-
ings included a carpenter's shop, and a machine shop. During the
1940s the MIA equipped the bottom of the machine shop as a
community laundry facility. 15
The MIA utilized an extensive tract of cleared land north
and east of the farm complex for livestock pasture, field crops, and
orchards (figure 4.6). Giles Merritt estimated that the MIA culti-
vated approximately thirty acres in crops, including potatoes, corn,
and hay during the late 1920s,. The MIAs east-side farming opera-
tion also included cherries, apples, and fodder for horses, cows, pigs,
and chickens. 16 Most of the cherry orchards were located south of
the dock road. 17
Location and Landscape Setting
The Manitou Island Association (AHA) farm complex is located at
the northern end of North Manitou Village (figure 4.7). The build-
ings are arranged along a beach ridge that affords excellent views of
the Manitou Passage to the east, and of other village structures to
the south. To the north and west, the terrain slopes gently upward
across an expansive clearing that is approximately % mile in its
north-south dimension and % mile in its east-west dimension.
Formerly used as fields, pasture, orchards, and an airplane landing
strip, this cleared area now is covered with herbaceous plants and a
few scattered shrubs, mostly Rosa spp. (figure 4.8). The clearing is
spatially defined by dense maple-beech forest on all but the eastern
side, which is bounded by the Lake Mchigan beach ridge. A gam-
brel-roofed barn, the largest structure of the village farm complex,
is visible from most positions within the clearing, and when ap-
proaching North Manitou Island from Lake Michigan. The location
of the farm complex is further demarcated by groupings of tall,
columnar, Lombardy (Popu/us nigra) poplar trees, which grow near
the buildings.
The clearing is bisected by an east-west roadway that leads
from the site of the former village dock to Lake Manitou (figure
4.9). Along this "dock road," near the crest of the beach ridge, is a
small hip-roofed, stone building that was constructed by the MIA as
its business office (figure 4.10). The northern edge of the road in
116
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
road to
Frederic Beuham
orchard .
KEY
Orchard =
dunes / beach =
woodland =
orchard workers' cabins
Manitou Island Association farm
dock
U.S. Coast Guard station
Cottage Row
North
Scale o 20Q 1 40 1
(Approximate) r^^i3!5553
100' 300'
Site Plan of the Manitou Island Association
Farm, North Manitou Village, ca. 1938
FIGURE 4.6
Drawing by Eric MacDonald and Katie Franks
117
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
road to
Frederic Beuham . "££ oW
orchard
orchard workers' cabins
Manitou Island
Association
farm complex
historic dock
location
NPS dock
U.S. Coast Guard
station
Cottage Row
North
Scale o 200 1 4o o'
(Approximate) f?!^3E^S3
1 00' 300'
North Manitou Village
Spatial Organization, 1997
FIGURE 4.7
Drawing by Eric MacDonald and Katie Franks
118
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
Figure 4.8. Clearing east of North Manitou Village and the Manitou Island Association farm complex, 1997. The vast clearing that extends
westward and northward from North Manitou Village may have originated with early cord-wood cutting activities. Orange Risdon's 1847
survey of the island recorded a small "chopping" in the vicinity of the present-day village. The area later served as the headquarters of
Nicholas Pickard's wood-cutting operation. Pickard, Silas R. Boardman, and the Newhalls probably used much of the clearing as pasture
and crop land. During the 1910s and 1920s the Newhalls and the Manitou Island Association added large cherry orchards and a landing
strip for airplanes. The orchards were removed by the association in the 1950s, and the landing strip and hangar were removed by the
NPS soon afterthe island became pa rtof Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
F igure 4.9. The road thatforms the
southern boundary of the farm districtonce
connected the formerNorth Manitou Village
dockwith Lake Manitou and the interiorof
the island. In many sections within the
village area, large sugarmaple trees line
the roadway.
119
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Campbell House 1
depression
(site of
Manitou Island
Association lodge)
08 p , %o>
shed rt uu " a
butternut
depression
£*J stones
DL&
sedum
m
'Monte Carlo Cottage' s ->
■or
"*** cotta9 e ...,■
o
stone
O"
■hO
(nn/)
GO f X -
orange #^
NPS radio
tower
KEY:
SM = Sugar Maple
NM = Norway Maple
RM = Red Maple
BC = Black Cherry
BL = Black Locust
S = Spirea
L = Lilac
DL=Day Lilies
ST = Stump
basswood
North
Scale
(Approximate)
Site Plan of the Manitou Island Association Office
and Campbell House
FIGURE 4.10
Drawing by Eric MacDonald and Katie Franks
120
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
this vicinity is lined by a row of large, regularly spaced sugar maple
{Acer saccharuni) trees. Two cross-roads, one south and the other
north of the office building, lead from the dock road to the main
cluster of farm buildings. The "Campbell House," a small clapboard
dwelling that functioned as housing for employees of the MIA, is
located near the intersection of the northern road with the dock
road. This road continues northward to the village barn, then
following the crest of the beach ridge, proceeds into the forest at
the northern edge of the clearing. The southern cross-road was once
lined on both sides by rows of butternut (Juglans cinered) trees;
however, only a few specimens remain. Near the intersection of this
road with the dock road stands a concrete garage/generator build-
ing, portions of which probably date to the Angell Foundation era.
Most of the AHA farm buildings are clustered in an area
north of the stone office building (figure 4.12). The large gambrel-
roofed barn, equipment shed, two storage sheds, and a shed known
as the "fire hall" are arranged around the edge of a bowl-shaped
depression that once served as a barnyard for the MIAs dairy cattle.
Across from the equipment shed is a cluster of small structures
including a carpenter shop, machine shop, water storage shed, and a
gas station. The gas station and water storage building define the
edge of a staging area south of the equipment shed (figure 4.11).
West of the water storage building and gas station are the machine
Figure 4.11. Manitou Island Association
equipmentshed and staging area, 1996. A
"working yard"is defined spatially by the
M IA equipmentshed, the uphill slope of the
beach ridge, and the waterstorage shed
and gas station.
121
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
norway
maple t Manitou Island
Association
abandoned fields
& pasture
lombardy poplar
butternut"
machine shop
Gl aspen
f
gas station
V stone
retaining -. ^ f~ K \
walls / \ \_J
fill
butternut
arpenter
shop |
privies .*
a °
North
Scale
(Approximate)
30'
Manitou Island Association Farm Complex
Landscape Setting
FIGURE 4.12
Drawing by Eric MacDonald and Katie Franks
122
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
shop and carpenter shop ruins. A new photovoltaic array, partially
screened by a cluster of large Lombardy poplar trees, is located
southwest of the farm complex (figure 4.13). Below the beach ridge,
east and slightly north of the barn and barnyard, is the AHA sawmill,
a large heavy-timber-framed, gable-roofed structure. Although
proximate to the MIA farm buildings, the sawmill is spatially and
visually separated from the MIA farm complex by the beach ridge. A
shed ruin is located south of the sawmill, and a small hip-roofed
privy is located north of the mill at the base of the beach ridge.
Figure 4.13. Photovoltaic (PV) array,
1996. A National Park Service proposal
to install a solar energy system on North
Manitou Island ignited public interest in
the history and aesthetic character of the
North Manitou Village landscape. After
negotiating with the Michigan State
Historic Preservation Office and other
interested parties, the NPS constructed a
photovoltaic array in the vicinity of the
historic MIA farm complex during
summer 1996. The photovoltaic array is
partially screened by vegetation, yet its
modern, synthetic materials and form
contrast starkly with the vernacular
character of the surrounding landscape.
Buildings, Structures and Objects
The largest and most visually prominent structure in the farm
complex is the MIA barn, which rests upon coursed cobblestone
foundation walls that were built into the east-facing slope of the
beach ridge (figure 4.14). The walls of the barn are clad with wood
shingles. 18 The metal roof is surmounted by two large metal ventila-
tors. Measuring approximately 40' x 80', the barn has five structural
bays, with the long axis oriented north-south. The northernmost bay
is partitioned from the rest of the barn and has a walk-in cold
storage room on the basement level, and a series of lofts above. The
cold storage room was used for deer carcasses, and the upper levels
were used for storing cherries. The southern four bays housed
livestock at the basement level, with hay storage above. The base-
ment level contains five box stalls, milking stanchions for ten cows, Fritz, "Eastside Barn
18 According to Fritz the galvanized
metal roof is "of recent vintage." See
123
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
19 Numerous light "wood framing
systems for barns "were promoted
during the early twentieth century. Most
utilized a ballon framing system, similar
to that "which "was then common in
residential construction, and a gambrel
roof supported by "wood trusses. The
truss designed by John L. Shawverwas
widely disseminated through his book,
Plank Frame Barn Construction, "which "was
published in 1904. Shawver's trusses
"were constructed of standard-dimen-
sion, milled lumber, and fastened to the
upper plate of the balloon frame. The
Shawver and other plank-frame
structural systems "were widely pro-
moted by the United States Department
of Agriculture and university extension
programs. For more information on the
evolution of barn framing and
structural systems in Michigan, see
Hemalata C. Dandekar, Robert M.
Darvis and Eric Allen MacDonald,
Structural Preservation and Adaptive Reuse
of Michigan Barns (Lansing, Mich.:
Michigan Department of State, 1992).
Figure 4.14. Manitou Island Association barn, 1996. An ancient beach ridge that runs
in a north-south direction along the eastern shore of the island is the most prominent
topographical feature in the vicinity of North Manitou Village. Within the M IA farm complex, the
ridge not only defines space, but also serves as an organizational element in the siting of
several farm structures. The basement level of the M IA village barn was integrated into the
east-facing slope of the ridge.
and a concrete floor throughout its extent. The upper portion of the
barn has a light wood-frame structural system, while the gambrel
roof is supported by six Shawver, or plank, trusses. 19 North of the
barn, on the beach ridge, are two smaller structures: a storage shed
and a structure known as the "fire hall" (figure 4.15). Both are
more-or-less square in plan. The storage shed has wood clapboard
siding and a hip roof. The fire hall has clapboard siding and a metal
gable roof.
The AHA equipment shed is the second-largest structure in
the farm complex, measuring approximately 19' x 100'. It is located
directly southeast of the MIA barn, with its long axis oriented
perpendicular to the barn (figure 4.16). The shed thus defines the
southern edge of the barnyard space to the north, and the northern
edge of the working yard or staging area to the south. The wood
shingle-clad shed has a light-wood frame structure that rests upon a
cast concrete foundation. It has six structural bays. The western and
eastern end bays are enclosed with horizontal board siding; the four
central bays are open to the south, with vertical and horizontal
124
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
Figure 4.15. Manitou Island Association
barn (right), "fire hall"(center), and
threshing machine (left), 1996. The hip-
roofed fire hall is one of two small storage
buildings situated north of the barn along
the crestofa beach ridge.
Figure 4.16. Manitou Island Association barn and reconstructed equipment shed,
1996. Constructed during the 1930s, the original equipment shed played a key role in
defining the southern edge of the barnyard space that extends eastward from the
basement level of the MIA village barn. The southern elevation of the shed opened
onto a small, flat yard where farm equipment was temporarily stored or serviced.
125
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 4.17. Manitou Island Association
gas station. A small gas station stands
opposite the equipment shed, along the
southern edge of the farm yard. The gas
station represents a specialized building
type-one made necessary by the MIA's
utilization of large machinery powered
by fossil fuels. Along with the equipment
shed, the gas station is a key resource
in distinguishing the MIA farm as a
modern, "neotechnic" agricultural
enterprise.
Figure 4.18. Manitou Island Association
carpenter shop and machine shop,
1996. Like the large barn, the basement
level of the carpenter and machine
shops were integrated into the slope of
the beach ridge. Although their
cobblestone foundations remain intact,
the wooden superstructures of both
shops currently are in ruinous condition.
20 Shunichi Hagiwara, "Building-
Structure Inventory for North Manitou
Island," September 1979, Sleeping Bear
Dunes National Lakeshore, Empire,
Michigan.
siding above the openings. During the 1996 building season the shed
was dismantled and reconstructed to accommodate NPS equipment
and space for the photovoltaic array. The reconstructed equipment
shed occupies the footprint of the historic shed and closely approxi-
mates its historic appearance. Although some historic building
materials were incorporated into the new structure, the shed is
mostly composed of new materials. A small shed ruin, now almost
completely obscured within a grove of Lombardy poplars, lies
directly east of the equipment shed.
The gas station has wood clapboard siding and a gable roof
that projects beyond the structure to form a sheltered front porch
(figure 4.17). The water storage building is a clapboard, side-gabled
structure. Although the carpenter shop and machine shop appeared
to be in good condition when Shunichi Hagiwara completed his
126
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
Figure 4.19. Manitou Island Association office building, 1996. The MIA office building is
a small, yet solidly constructed building. The office has a specialized function that is
typical of modern, "neotechnic" agricultural buildings. It reflects the MIA's conception of
the farm as a business, and the association's hierarchical managerial structure.
Originally, both structures rested upon stone foundations that were
built into the slope of the beach ridge. Southeast of these structures
is a small depression, which is now densely wooded. In this area are
two ruinous privies, which appear to have been moved to their
current positions from other locales.
The MIA office building is located west of the carpenter
shop and machine shop ruins, along the road leading to the former
North Manitou dock. It is a small hip-roofed structure, with a
simple rectangular footprint and thick, fieldstone walls (figure 4.19).
The road in front of the office building is lined with large, regularly-
spaced sugar maple trees. North of the office building, situated near
the northwestern corner of the intersection of the northern farm
road and the dock road, is a small vernacular dwelling known as the
"Campbell House" — a one-story, side-gabled dwelling that the
Manitou Island Association used as housing for its workers (figure
4.20). The house is named after Russell Campbell, an MIA em-
ployee who resided there with his wife during the 1950s. This may
be one of several houses that, according to Josephine Hollister, was
once located in the "farm yard" of Silas Boardman's farmstead
(figures 4.21 and 4.22) . 21 Cultural landscape features at this site
Hollister, "Summer Resort.'
127
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 4.20. Campbell House, 1996.
The residence known as the "Campbell
House" reflects the importance of hired
labor to corporate farming organizations
like the Manitou Island Association. It
represents the managerial structure of
such operations, and thus constitutes an
important and unique resource within the
village.
Figure 4.21. Belgian draft horses graze
in front of the "Campbell House" (left)
and another small tenant farm house
(right) on the Newhall farm, ca. 1900.
Like the Hans Halseth house currently
within the North Manitou U.S. Life-saving
Service Station complex, the Campbell
house probably does not occupy its
original site. The Campbell house
represents an important genre in the
history of domestic architecture on the
island: small, vernacular, wood-frame
houses that frequently were relocated
from site to site in accord with changes in
ownership, tenancy, oreconomic
considerations. As defined and
conventionally employed by the National
Register of Historic Places, "integrity of
location"ceases to be a meaningful
category of analysis when considering
such highly-mobile vernacular buildings.
Figure 4.22. The "Campbell house" (far
right) and the farmhouse (left) during the
Newhall era (early 1900s).
128
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
Figure 4.23. Manitou Island Association sawmill, 1996. The mill is partially composed
of materials salvaged from Peter Stormer's mill at the southeastern end of the island.
The sawmill was not central to the MIA's agricultural operations, but it did produce
materials that the association used to construct and maintain its various farm
structures. The mill was situated below the beach ridge on a site located several
hundred feet from the barn, perhaps to provide ample room for piles of logs and
lumber without interfering with nearby farming activities. The MIA sawmill remains in
sound structural condition, representing two important phases of twentieth-century
logging activity on North Manitou Island.
include a shed, concrete sidewalk, spirea shrubs, and plantings of day-
lilies and sedum.
The sawmill is a two-story, gable-roofed structure (figure
4.23). It has a heavy timber frame, which apparently was con-
structed with a assortment of circular-sawn, band-sawn, and hewn
timbers that were recycled from other island structures. 22 The
building is sheathed with vertical boards and roofed with corrugated
sheet metal. A small, hip-roofed, wood-frame privy is located a few
yards north of the sawmill (figure 4.24).
Contributing Landscape Features
Figure 4.24. Privy near the MIA sawmill,
1996. The relatively refined materials
and ornamentation of this privy suggests
that it may have been relocated here
from another site, perhaps one of the
Cottage Row parcels.
Barnyard
Equipment yard / staging area
Roads
Butternut trees
Threshing machine
Shed (ruin)
Privy #1 (ruin)
Privy #2 (ruin)
22 Robert Foulkes, "Summary and
Explanation of Timber Survey Notes
for Sawmill on North Manitou Island,
Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore," 20 March 1995, Sleeping
Bear Dunes National Lakeshore,
Empire, Mich.
129
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Lombardy poplar grove
Fire Hall (ruin)
Fence
Machine Shop (ruin)
Pump
Contributing Structures
MIA Office Building
Structure Number: 53122810
Dimensions: 24'-8" x 14'-5"
Foundation: cast concrete
Walls: cobblestone
Roof: hip; asphalt shingles
Water Storage Shed
Structure Number: 53122841
Dimensions: 14'-5"x 11'
Foundation: cast concrete
Walls: wood lap siding
Roof: asphalt
Barn
Structure Number: 53122809
Dimensions: 80'-6" x 40'-6"
Foundation: coursed cobblestone and concrete
Walls: wood shingles
Roof: galvanized, corrugated sheet metal
Gas Station
Structure Number: 53122813
Dimensions: ll'-6" x 19'-3"
Foundation: cast concrete
Walls: wood lap siding
Roof: galvanized corrugated sheet metal
Carpenter Shop
Structure Number: 53122844
Dimensions:
Foundation: concrete, stone
Walls: wood shingles
Roof: gable; wood shingle / nonextant
Campbell House
Structure Number: 53122830
Dimensions: 20' x 30'
Foundation: stone
Walls: wood lap siding
Roof: asphalt
Fruit Storage Shed
Structure Number: 53122846
Dimensions: 20' x 15'
Foundation: none
Walls: vertical boards
Roof: hip; wood shingles
Campbell House Shed
Structure Number: 53122874
Dimensions: 12' x 7'
Foundation: none
Walls: wood lap siding
Roof: asphalt
Contributing Non-farm Structures
MIA Sawmill
Structure Number: 53122808
Dimensions: 90'-10" x 24'-6"
Foundation: mortared stone and brick
Walls: vertical wood boards
Roof: gable; metal
Generator Building
Structure Number: 53105802
Foundation: concrete
Walls: concrete block
Roof: sheet metal
Garage
Structure Number: 53122847
Dimensions: 25' x 15'
Foundation: concrete
Walls: vertical boards with asphalt covering
Roof: asphalt
130
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
Non-contributing Structures
Equipment Shed 23
Structure Number: 53122807
Dimensions: 100' x 25'
Foundation: cast concrete
Walls: wood shingles, vertical and horizontal boards
Roof: gable; wood shingles
Photovoltaic Array
Foundation: cast concrete
Other materials: metal, plastic, glass
2j According to National Register of
Historic Places eligibility criteria, the
MIA equipment shed is considered a
non-contributing structure because it is
a reconstruction. However, the design
of the shed closely approximates that
of the historic structure, and thus is
compatible with the character of the
historic district.
131
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Manitou Island Association Migrant Orchard Workers'
Cabins
NW 'A, NE 7 4 , Section 34, T-32N R-15W
History and Agricultural Data
According to Rita Hadra Rusco, during the mid-1 930s the MIA
constructed twenty-five one-room cabins to house migrant cherry
harvest crews. 24 A sketch map drawn in 1953 by the Detroit Insur-
ance Agency noted the existence of nineteen cabins, which were
valued collectively at $3,800. 25 Each cabin contained basic furnish-
ings and utensils, including bunk beds with straw mattresses, a
water tank, tables, lamps, dishes, and an array of kitchen tools
ranging from a potato masher to a lemon squeezer (figure 4.25). 26
The cabins were constructed along the shoreline road at the north-
Figure 4.25. The disintegration of the
island community during the 1930s
forced the MIA to import a migrant labor
force for it annual cherry harvests. To
house workers during their stay on the
island, the MIA constructed a cluster of
simple wooden shelters along the
northeastern edge of its North Manitou
Village orchards. Apparently the new
arrangement also necessitated the
promulgation of "rules and regulations"
governing the use of MIA-owned
property.
24 Rusco, North Manitou Island, 23.
25 Detroit Insurance Agency, "Manitou
Island Assoc, North Manitou Island,
Michigan," sketch map, September 1953,
MIA Collection, Sleeping Bear Dunes
National Lakeshore, Empire, Mich.
26 Manitou Island Association, "Rules
and Regulations [for cherry pickers'
cabins]," ca. 1940?, MIA Collection,
Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore, Empire, Mich.
Manitou Island Association
North Manitou Island, Michigan
PICKERS COTTAGE
SILVER:
6 Tea Spoons
6 Table Forks
6 Table Knives
6 Table Spoons
1 Sugar Spoon
1 Butter Knife
INVENTORY
FURNISHINGS:
2 Springs
1 Wall Lamp
1 Reflector
1 Table
1 Mirror
1 Oil Stove
DISHES:
6 Dinner Plates
6 Coffee Cups
6 Saucers
1 Serving Dish
1 Sugar Bowl
1 Creamer
KITCHEN UTENSILS:
1 Broom
1 Coffee Pot
1 Dish Pan
1 Fry Pan
1 Kettle
1 Tea Kettle
1 Potato Masher
1 Cake Turner
1 Water Pail
1 Wash Baein
1 Water Dipper
1 Lemon Squeezer
1 Kerosene Can
1 Butcher Knife
The above inventory has been checked (by me. I agree to assume full responsibility for same and upon
vacating to turn it over to the owners or their agents in as good condition as I found it, barring reasonable
wear and tear, and I will make good any missing or broken articles at that time. I have inspected the cot-
tage in question and its condition is satisfactory. I agree to leave clean all bedding, dishes, silverware, and
other equipment, and I further agree to leave the cottage, so far as housekeeping is concerned, in a neat and
tidy condition. Upon my failure to do the above you may have same done at my expense.
I further agree to give 2 days' notice of moving and to accept and abide by the notice, house rules and
regulations found in following paragraphs.
Date
RULES AND REGULATIONS
The occupants agree to abide by and conform to the following rules
of said
.ring the occupan
premises:
1. THE DANCER OF FIRES cannot be too strongly emphasized. If a fire should get started and spread
to the woods, hundreds of thousands of dollars damage would result. Therefore it is necessary to be EX-
TREMELY CAREFUL WITH CIGARETTES, ETC.
2. Garbage, tin cans, paper, etc., shall be deposited in receptacle provided for that purpose.
3. Do not permit anything to be done which will in any way molest or annoy the occupants of other cabins.
No singing, playing of musical instruments or loud talking permitted between TEN THIRTY P. M. AND
SEVEN A. M.
4. All equipment shall be permanently retained in its original position and location. This includes all
doors, windows, screens, tables, beds, lamps, stoves and any other equipment or furnishings provided.
6. When leaving your cabin lock your door. A charge of fifty cents will be made for each key not
returned when leaving island.
6. Do not permit any cutting or marking of the walls, doors, etc.
7. These rules and regulations may be changed or added to from time to time when deemed necessary
for the aafety, care and cleanliness of the premises, and for the preservation of good order therein. Any
constructive criticism tending toward improvement will be welcome.
NOTJCE
The owners and managers will not be liable for any accidental damage to the person or property of the
occupants, nor for any damages occasioned by failure to keep said premises in repair, nor for damages
done or occasioned thereby by fire, explosion, water, lamps in or about said building, or for damage caused
by water, rain, etc., coming through the roof, windows, doors, or otherwise, or for any damage arising from the
arts or negligence of others occupying the same or other buildings, including loss or damage to property by
theft, and the occupants in living in this building hereby consent and agree to make no claim for such loss
or damage at any time. The occupants further expressly agree to vacate this cottage and leave the island
when they finish picking or their services are dispensed with.
132
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
eastern corner of the large east-side clearing. The cleared land to the
southwest was utilized for the MIA airstrip and for apple and cherry
orchards.
In 1957 a grass fire raged across the airfield and through the
abandoned cherry and apple orchards. The fire destroyed a row of
cherry pickers' shacks, most likely those lining the western side of the
shoreline road. A newspaper article reported that the fire was started
by a logger. The blaze, which extended over thirty-five acres, stopped
at the edges of the road and woods, destroying twelve cabins; seven
remained unscathed. 27
Location and Landscape Setting
Four of the MIA cherry pickers' cabins remain along the shoreline
road leading northward from the village to the John Maleski home-
stead. In island lore, the stretch of road north of the cabins was
designated "Lover's Lane," as it was there that U.S. coastguardsmen
allegedly romanced their sweethearts. 28 The cabins are situated be-
tween the road and the crest of the lakeshore bluff, approximately a
half mile north of the village dock (figure 4.26). 29 The cabin entrances
face west, toward the road. The area is now heavily wooded with
young sugar maple, beech (Fagus grandifolid) , and aspen {Populus
tremuloides) trees, yet glimpses of the Manitou Passage can be seen
through gaps in the trees. A dense, nearly monotypic stand of black
locust trees (Kobinia pseudoacatid) is located south of the cabin cluster.
The oldest individuals may have been planted initially by the MIA as a
windbreak. Southwest of the cherry pickers' cabins and the black
locust grove is a relict apple orchard, which currently is a NPS-
designated camping site. A fifth cabin, which has been moved from its
original location and converted into a storage shed, is located behind
the Alford cottage on Cottage Row.
Buildings, Structures and Objects
All four cabins were in good structural condition when they were
inventoried in 1979 by Shunichi Hagiwara. The cabins are gable-
roofed, light-wood-framed structures clad with vertical board-and-
batten siding (figure 4.27). Three of the cabins (one of which is in
ruinous condition) are approximately twelve feet square in plan; one
cabin is slightly larger, measuring twelve feet by fourteen feet. The
floor of each cabin consists of planks nailed to a wooden platform
that rests directly on the ground surface. The interior walls of the
cabins are unfinished, with shelves built into the front gable walls. The
front (western) wall of each cabin has a door opening, one small
window, and small vent in the gable. One lateral wall on each cabin
has a large pass-through window measuring approximately six feet
wide by three feet high.
27 "Rash of Grass Fires Threatens
Damage on Mainland and Island,"
Leelanau Enterprise (?), 4 April 1957,
Betty Kramer Collection, Leelanau
Historical Museum, Leland, Mich.
2 ° Lundquist, interview.
29 UTM reference point: Zone 1 6,
Easting 580306, Northing 4997794.
133
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
road to North Manitou Village
Lake Michgan
beach ridge
North
Scale
(Approximate)
0' 20'
40'
Site Plan of the Manitou Island Association
Orchard Workers' Cabins
FIGURE 4.26
Drawing by Eric MacDonald and Katie Franks
134
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
Figure 4.27. Manitou Island Association orchard workers' cabin, 1996. The three
cabins standing along the eastern shore road are nearly identical in appearance. The
repetitive, standardized design reflects the anonymous role that transient, itinerant
workers played in commercial fruit operations like that of the MIA. The cabins further
represent the radical social and economic transformation that occurred on the island
during the 1930s and 1940s. During that time, the U.S. Coast Guard station and the
lighthouse were closed, the Boumique, Anderson, and Maleski families abandoned
their farms, and the MIA acquired even more island property. All of the surviving
orchard workers' cabins are deteriorating due to lack of maintenance.
Black Locust Grove/Windbreak
Maple-Beech-Aspen Woodland
Contributing Landscape Features
Shoreline Road South Cherry Orchards
Landing Strip
North Cherry Orchard
Apple Orchard
Contributing Structures
Cabin #1 (Ruin)
Structure Number: 53122899
Dimensions: 12'0" x 12'-2"
Walls: vertical board and batten
Roof: none
135
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
JU Rusco, North NLanitou Island, 60.
31 U.S. Census Office, "Twelfth [1900]
Census of the United States — Popula-
tion," microfilm copy of manuscript
schedules, State Historical Society of
Wisconsin, Madison.
Cabin #2
Structure Number: 53122899
Dimensions: 12'-2" x 14'-0"
Walls: vertical board and batten
Roof: gable; composition roof paper
Cabin #3
Structure Number: 53122899
Dimensions: 12'-2" x 12'-1"
Walls: vertical board and batten
Roof: gable; composition roof paper
Cabin #4
Structure Number: 53122899
Dimensions: 12'-0" x 12' -2"
Walls: vertical board and batten
Roof: none
Manitou Island Association West-Side Farm /
Crescent Townsite
E
Section 7, T-31N R-15W
History and Agricultural Data
This site, used by the MIA as the base of its west-side agricultural
operations, was first farmed by Peter Swanson and his brother John
Swenson, both of whom emigrated from Sweden during the mid-
1880s. They purchased 240 acres of land along the western shore of
North Manitou Island near the site of the abandoned lumber town
of Aylsworth. The two brothers shared a house, and together
purchased livestock, cleared land, and constructed a barn and
fences (figure 4.28). John, who chose to spell his name "Swenson,"
built a boat for fishing and transporting goods to and from Leland.
Peter worked for Silas Boardman as a carpenter and blacksmith.
According to Rita Hadra Rusco, John later moved to the eastern side
of the island where he engaged in farming and logging 30
The 1900 population census of North Manitou Island lists
Peter "Swenson," born November 1861, age 38. He had been
married for three years to his wife Mary, who was born in 1873.
According to the census manuscript, Peter had immigrated from
Sweden in 1885, and was a nationalized U.S. citizen. Mary had
immigrated from Norway in 1895. Two children lived with them:
Peter M., born in February 1898 in Michigan, and Theobalda, born
in June 1892 in Norway — three years before Mary's immigration,
and five years before her marriage to Peter. John Swenson does not
appear in the 1900 census of North Manitou Island. 31
136
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
Figure 4.28. A "homemade threshing
machine"on thefarm of PeterSwanson, ca.
1900.
In 1906, Peter Swanson leased part of his North Manitou
property to the partnership of Franklyn H. Smith and William C.
Hull of Traverse City. On this parcel, the Smith & Hull Lumber
Company developed the lumber camp known as "Crescent." The
complex included a saw mill, several commercial and quasi-public
buildings including a school, post office, hotel, dock, and housing for
workers. Construction of the dock began in 1907, and the mill,
operated by A. J. White and Son, began functioning in the fall of
1908. A narrow-gauge railroad carried logs from Smith & Hull's's
land holdings in the northwestern portion of the island to Cres-
cent. 32 The company used some of the cleared land surrounding the
camp and the Swanson farmstead to produce food for its workers
and draft animals, and for a small dairy herd and other livestock. 33
Several barns and other agricultural buildings were erected at the
site. Historic photographs of Crescent depict several large barns
with lower walls constructed of vertical logs. 34
In 1915, following the depletion of harvestable timber on its
island lands, the Smith & Hull Lumber Company abandoned the
Crescent lumber camp. The townsite was entirely deserted by the
time biologist Robert Hatt visited the site in 1916. 35 Soon thereafter
the structures were dismantled, with some of the materials possibly
recycled by island residents into other buildings (figure 4.29). Peter
Swanson may have discontinued his own farming activities on
North Manitou Island during the Smith & Hull lumbering period.
The 1910 federal census of population for Leland Township lists
Peter Swenson, 49, from Sweden, who was naturalized in 1881. He
claimed no occupation, lived with his wife Mary, his son Enos (age
12), and daughter Eva D. 36 Peter, Alary, and Eva Swanson moved to
Traverse City in 1917. Enus, who was employed by Peter Stormer,
remained on the island. 37
The Crescent townsite eventually was acquired by the Manitou
Island Syndicate, forerunner of the Manitou Island Association,
which constructed a large barn there sometime during the early 1920s.
From information given in an interview with Airs. Eleanor (Ander-
son) Oien, National Park Service historian David L. Fritz inferred
that the western side barn predated the lumbering town of Crescent. 38
32 Rusco, North Manitou Island, 96-97,
123.
33 David L. Fritz, "Swanson Bam,"
Draft National Register of Historic
Places Registration Form, 22 September
1987, Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore, Empire, Mich.
J " The historic photograph collection of
the Leelanau Historical Museum
includes several good views of agricul-
tural and other buildings at Crescent.
Numerous buildings appear to have
utilized vertical log wall construction.
The first documented example of this
construction technique on North
Manitou maybe the residence of Alvar
and Mary Boumique, which "was built by
Nicholas Feilen. Perhaps Feilen,who
resided on the island during the
development of Crescent, also "was
involved in the construction of the
lumber camp buildings.
35 Robert T Hatt, J. VanTyne, L. C.
Stuart, C. H. Pope, and A. B. Grobman,
Island Ufe: A Study of the Land
Vertabrates of the Islands of Eastern Lake
Michigan (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.:
Cranbrook Institute of Science, 1948),
43.
j6 U.S. Department of Commerce,
Bureau of Census, "Thirteenth [1910]
Census of the United States — Popula-
tion," microfilm copy of manuscript
schedules, Library of Michigan, Lansing.
Most likely, the naturalization date is an
error, since 1881 is four years prior to
Swanson's immigration to the United
States.
37 Rusco, North Manitou Island, 102-103,
69.
38 Fritz, "History Data Report," 82;
Fritz, "Swanson Bam." The barn "was
considered eligible for inclusion in the
national register because of its associa-
tion with the logging activities at
Crescent.
137
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 4.29. Crescent "meat market"
and "barber shop," ca. 1940. The
structures depicted in the background of
this photograph allegedly were part of
the crescent lumber camp, where they
functioned as a meatmarketand a barber
shop. Both structures apparently were
utilized and maintained by the M IA, which
owned the property when this photograph
was taken.
j9 Rusco, "North Manitou Island, 96.
Manitou Island Association Accounts
Journal.
41 Fritz, "History Data Report," 28;
Fritz's source is Giles E. Merritt.
42 Giles E. Merritt, untitled manuscript,
11 February 1986; Fritz, "History Data
Report," 28.
4j Lundquist, interview.
Although historic photographs indicate that a large, wood-frame,
gambrel-roofed barn did exist at the townsite during its heyday, the
design of that building differed significantly from the current struc-
ture. If the barn portrayed in photographs of Crescent is indeed the
currently existing barn, then it has been substantially remodeled and,
judging from the surrounding terrain, probably also relocated.
The current structure probably was built after the demise of
Crescent, but prior to the mid-1920s. According to Rusco, the west-
side barn was built around 1925 by the Manitou Island Syndicate to
support its beef cattle endeavor. 39 None of the expenses recorded in
the MIA accounts journal for autumn 1924 through 1929 can be
attributed directly to construction of the west-side barn. However,
an entry in the Manitou Island Association accounts journal during
autumn 1924 indicates that the MIA paid Martin Haeft $251.25 for
"painting buildings west side." 40 Perhaps the west-side barn was
built during the spring or summer of 1924, just prior to the period
covered by the surviving MIA expenses ledger.
The MIAs west-side farming operation focused on beef
cattle. Peter Oien managed the west-side farm for the AHA (figure
4.30). He and his family lived in the house originally built and
occupied by Peter Swanson and John Swenson. 41 The Oiens also
raised corn and hay, and had a family garden for their own use.
According to Giles Alerritt, the AHA utilized the west-side fields for
hay, corn, potatoes, and some fruit trees. He estimated that during
the 1920s about twenty- five acres were planted with hay and corn,
and another three acres were devoted to potatoes. The west-side
operation also included several milk cows, chickens, and hogs. 42 Jean
Lundquist recalled that during the late 1930s and 1940s the west-
side farmstead included the former Swanson/Swenson house, the
large MIA barn, a pig sty, and a chicken coop, the latter two located
north of the barn. A couple of "old machinery sheds" were located
near the abandoned Crescent dock. 43
138
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
After the Angell Foundation discontinued most of the MIA's
island agricultural activities during the early 1950s, the barn was
primarily used for storage and to provide shelter for deer hunters
during inclement weather. 44 When Rita Hadra Rusco arrived on
North Manitou in 1942, the Swanson/Swenson house was vacant but
in good repair. Peter and Eleanor Oien moved to the mainland in
1945. 45 A 1953 insurance evaluation of the site indicated that the barn
was used for feed storage. Three other structures on the site, one of
which likely was the Swanson/Swenson farmhouse, were listed as
"uninsurable." 46 The deserted farmhouse was bulldozed in the mid-
1970s, the last house to be demolished by the MIA. 47
Location and Landscape Setting
The MIA west-side farm is situated in the west-central portion of
the island, less than one-half mile from Lake Michigan. Nearly four
miles west of the village, the farm is reached via a roadway that
traverses the island from a location just north of the "south or-
chard" on the eastern shore road. The farm clearing is nearly a mile
long from north to south, and a half-mile wide. A smaller, irregu-
larly-shaped clearing known as the "big field" is located south and
slightly upland of the main cleared area, screened from view by a
narrow strip of woodland. The primary farm clearing offers spec-
tacular views of Lake Michigan and South Manitou Island. The
terrain slopes gradually downward toward the lakeshore, where it is
then broken by a strip of highly irregular, rounded dune formations,
and active dunes along the coast. The vegetation of this area
includes several showy wildflowers, including yarrow {Achilles
millefolium), common St. John's-wort {Hypericum perforatum), and
common milkweed {Asclepias syriacd), all of which bloom during
mid-summer.
Figure 4.30. Peter Oien family, ca. 1940.
PeterOien was employed by the MIA
during the 1920s, and may have begun his
employmentwith the association's
forerunner, the Manitou Island Syndicate.
While Peterwas employed bythe MIA as a
farm manager, the Oiens resided atthe
west-side farm during the summer months.
The large barn shown in the background of
this photograph was the primary structure of
the M lA's west-side farming operation. This
photograph depicts the building notlong
before the MIA began curtailing agricultural
production on the island. Soon thereafter,
the MIA ceased harvesting hay from the
large clearings scattered throughoutthe
western and southern portions of the island,
and utilized the barn primarily to store
winterfeed forthe MIA deer herd.
44 David L. Fritz, "Swanson Barn."
45 Rusco, North Manitou Island, 76, 95;
"N. Manitou Native Dies at the Age of
95," Leelanau Enterprise, 22 August
1996. Eleanor Oien "was the daughter of
North Manitou Island pioneers Mads
and Gertrude Nerland. She married
Peter M. Oien in 1 921 . Peter died in
1973, and Eleanor died in 1996.
46 Detroit Insurance Agency, "Manitou
Island Association, North Manitou
Island, Michigan."
47 Rusco, North Manitou Island, 95, 13.
139
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
depressions
\
o
Peter Swanson and
John Swenson house ruin
"barber shop" ruin /
woodland
Scale __
(Approximate) ^B^^r^^^^ NOftrl
30' 60'
Site Plan of the Manitou Island Association
West-Side Farmstead
FIGURE 4.31
Drawing by Eric MacDonald and Katie Franks
140
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
The AHA west-side barn is located in the extreme southeast-
ern corner of the large clearing, its southern end positioned at the
edge of the woodland and the base of a small hill (figure 4.31). The
site of the former A. J. White and Son mill is visible several yards
northwest of the barn, where the lower terrain and vegetation be-
comes very marshy. This small wetland constitutes the remains of the
holding pond for the mill, into which hot water once was pumped to
wash away snow, sand, and gravel from logs before they were milled
(figure 4.32) , 48 Concrete piers and foundation remnants mark the
location of the sawmill. Three apple trees are located north of the
relict mill pond area.
Located several yards northeast of the barn is a structural
ruin referred to as "the barber shop" (figure 4.33) This structure is
presumed to have been part of the Crescent lumber camp. Accord-
ing to Rusco, the building functioned as the town meat market. It
had a walk-in cooler, and an attached icehouse and barber shop. 49 A
ca. 1940 photograph shows the structure to be well-maintained and
in good condition, suggesting that it was utilized as part of the MIA
west-side farming operation.
Apparently, the barber shop ruin was in better condition at
the time of 1994 List of Classified Structures (LCS) survey, which
indicated that it was a cross-gable structure with drop siding and a
wood shingle roof, measuring 14'-4" by 25'-0." 50 It has now almost
completely collapsed. An automobile inside the structure, which is
currently buried beneath debris, suggests that a portion of the
F igure 4.32. S ite of the former A. J .
White & Son sawmill, Crescent townsite,
1996. Concrete foundations mark the
former location of the sawmill; the long-
abandoned mill pond remains visible in
the landscape as a large wetland located
directly west of the MIA barn.
43 Rusco, North Manitou Island, 96.
49 Ibid.
50 List of Classified Structures, field
notes, Summer 1994, National Park
Service, Midwest Support Office,
Omaha, Nebraska.
141
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 4.33. "Barber shop," Crescent
townsite, 1996.
building formerly was used as a garage. The automobile may be either
a 'Beacon' or 'Ace' — models that were manufactured by Continental
Motors during 1933-1935. There are at least three other noticeable
depressions in the vicinity of the barber shop. These may be locations
of buildings formerly associated with the Swanson farm or the
Crescent lumber camp. Farther to the northeast, barely within the
edge of the woods, are the remains of the Peter Swanson house,
which was bulldozed by the Manitou Island Association. It is now
merely a pile of wood and debris.
Buildings and Structures
The MIA west-side barn is positioned with its long axis aligned
southwest/northeast. The barn has a gambrel roof with flared eaves.
It is clad with vertical board siding and corrugated sheet-metal
roofing (figures 4.34 and 4.35). Most of the foundation is cast
concrete, except for a portion of the northwestern wall, which is
fieldstone with cement mortar. A concrete wing wall extends out-
ward from the northeastern end of the building, but there is no
obvious evidence to suggest whether this wall once supported a
structure of some sort.
The barn has nine structural bays (figure 4.36). The northeast-
ern two-thirds of the lower floor is open and has a dirt floor. The
southwestern third has a concrete floor, with the space divided
between wooden box stalls, and a series of milking stanchions that
142
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
Figure 4.34. Manitou Island Association west-side barn, northern and western facades,
1996. The barn is the largestagricultural building on North Manitou Island.
Figure 4.35. Manitou Island Association
west-side barn, eastern and southern
facades, 1996. The barn is a prominent
landscape feature of the west-side farm
clearing and Crescenttownsite, and
dramatically frames westward views of Lake
Michigan.
143
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
I I I I I I I II I
^v milking stanchions s-i
L
tfal
ramp
U P[1
m
m
H
II
up
box stalls
milk bottling room
North
Scale
(Approximate)
10'
20'
Manitou Island Association West-Side Barn
Ground Floor Plan
figure 4.36
Drawing by Eric MacDonald and Katie Franks
accommodated ten cows (figure 4.37). Like the east-side MIA barn,
the lower portion of the west-side barn has a heavy timber structure
made up of circular-sawn wooden posts and girders, and peeled log
beams. Above, the barn has a plank-frame structure that is based on
the Shawver truss system. Physical evidence suggests that the large
upper loft, which extends across the full length of the structure, was
used for hay storage, and the space below housed animals. The barn
has a large door at the southern end for loading hay.
Contributing Landscape Features
Meat market/barber shop ruin and automobile
Earthen depressions
Peter and John Swanson/Swenson House ruin
Fence posts and woven wire fence
Concrete foundation (barnyard)
Mill pond
Concrete foundation and piers (A. J. White mill)
Apple trees (3) north of pond
144
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
Figure 4.37. Manitou Island Association west-side barn, milking stanchions, 1996. The
floor plan, materials, equipment, and interior finishes of the MIA barn conform to
standards promulgated during the 1910s and 1920s by the U.S. Department of
Agriculture and the extension programs of state agricultural colleges.
Contributing Structures
Barn
Structure Number: 53122830
Dimensions: 132' x 33'
Foundation: concrete; fieldstone
Walls: vertical boards
Roof: corrugated sheet metal
145
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
51 U.S. Department of Commerce,
Bureau of Census, "Thirteenth [1910]
Census of the United States — Popula-
tion;" "People You Know - Or Do
You?," Leelanau Enterprise-Tribune, 28
March 1957, n.p.
52 Fritz, "History Data Report," 83-84.
5j Homestead Application #11080,
Serial #022; Final Certificate (Patent)
#62772, National Archives and Records
Administration, Washington, DC
54 U.S. Department of Commerce,
Bureau of Census, "Thirteenth [1910]
Census of the United States — Popula-
tion."
55 "People You Know - Or Do You?,"
'Leelanau Enterprise-Tribune, 28 March
1957, n.p.
56 Giles E. Merritt, untitled manuscript,
11 February 1986.
57 Giles E. Merritt, "U.S. Coast Guard
N. Manitou Isl. Events 1925-28."
Alvar and Mary Bournique Farm
NE l A, NW l A, Section 22, T-31N R-14W
History and Agricultural Data
The farm built by Colonel Alvar L. and Mary Bournique was the
most elaborate private resort developed on North Manitou Island
during the twentieth century (figures 4.38 and 4.39). Alvar
Bournique (b. 1866) married Mary McMunn (b. 1883) in 1901.
Together they operated a dance instruction school founded by Alvar
Bournique's parents in Chicago in 1867. 51 The Bourniques owned
additional dance studios in Waukegon and Lake Forest, Illinois, and
Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 52
On 3 July 1903, Alvar Bournique filed a homestead entry for
152.20 acres of land described as E l / 2 NW l A, NE% SW% and Lot
#5, Section 22, T31N R14W The final proof was entered on 13
October 1908. In his 1908 testimony, Bournique claimed to have
settled on the property on 25 October 1903. He built and occupied
a 32' x 42' log house in 1904. Additional improvements included a
second dwelling, an ice house, a barn, chicken coop, tool shed,
laundry, fences, and wells (figure 4.40). These improvements were
valued at $4000. Bournique testified that he resided at the farm
with his wife and two children, and stated that he had "never been
absent beyond the time limit accorded and only in account of
business." While he was away, the farm operations were continued
by his wife and employees. The soil was light sand and clay, covered
with second-growth timber. He cultivated approximately ten acres
the first year, "planted to orchard first season three acres, and
increased each year amount cultivated about five acres." In 1907
Bournique cultivated approximately thirty- three acres, and in 1908,
he had approximately thirty acres under cultivation. Bournique's
witnesses were John Paetschow, age 25, and Fred Samuelson, age
37. Other witnesses were Nick Feilen and John Anderson. 53 Two
years later, at the time of the 1910 census, the Bourniques were
listed as residents of North Manitou Island. They had two daugh-
ters, Elizabeth, age 7, and Mary L., age 3. 54
The Bourniques continued their Chicago-based dancing
school business, running their North Manitou Island farm "by
remote control," and coming to the island for summer vacations.
They increased their island property holdings to 400 acres and
continued the farming operation until 1925. 55 Giles Merritt recalled
that during the mid-1 920s the Bourniques spent May through
September at their island home. 56 The household included Alvar and
Mary Bournique, their two daughters, and Mary Bournique's mother,
Mrs. William Northrup McMunn. Friends and extended family
members visited for shorter periods during the summer, often
arriving on the steamship Puritan from Chicago, which stopped at
several ports on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. 57
146
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
Figure 4.38. Alvar and Mary Boumique residence shortly after
construction in 1903.
Figure 4.39. Alvar and Mary Boumique at their North Manitou
Island summer home, ca. 1928. The Boumiques resided in
Highland Park, Illinois.
147
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
58 Fritz, "History Data Report," 83.
59 Rusco, North Manitou Island, 59.
6n Giles E. Merritt, "U.S. Coast Guard
N. Manitou Isl. Events 1925-28;"
Manitou Island Association, Accounts
Journal.
61 "People You Know - Or Do You?,"
Leelanau Enterprise-Tribune, 28 March
1957, n.p.
" 2 Rusco, North Manitou Island, 59.
6j Memorandum, [W] Craig Keith to
[Board of Trustees, William R. Angell
Foundation], 31 December 1976, Angell
Foundation Collection, Sleeping Bear
Dunes National Lakeshore, Empire,
Mich.
Figure 4.40. Alvar and Mary Bournique farm, ca. 1910. The structure in this
photograph may be one of several buildings that once stood on the Bournique
farmstead.
The Bourniques employed island residents to tend to various
household and farm chores, including housekeeping, cooking,
laundering, and gardening 58 John and Ildri Anderson operated the
farm and served as year-round caretakers of the property. 59 The
Bourniques also hired AHA employees for farm labor, rented a
saddle horse for the summer season, and purchased ice, milk, and
hay from the MIA. 60
In 1938 the Bourniques sold their dance school and moved
to Leland. Following Alvar's death that same year, Mary Bournique
continued to reside in that mainland community. 61 The Bournique's
North Manitou house was last occupied in 1941. Mary Bournique
visited the property each summer between 1942 and 1946; during
these visits, however, she stayed in the MIA lodge. 62 Ownership of
the North Manitou property passed to Mary Bournique's daughter
and son-in-law, Mr. and Airs. Wilbur Alunneke. At their meeting on 1
October 1955, the board of trustees of the Angell Foundation
agreed to offer the Alunnekes $20,000, to be paid over a three year
period, in exchange for title to the property. The Alunnekes agreed
to this plan in April 1956, and the Angell Foundation acquired the
title in 1959. 63
148
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
Lake Michigan
to
North
Manitou u
Village
location of
Peter Stormer dock
North Manitou Island Cemetery
severely wind-eroded soil
Nerland/Anderson
house
Bournique
farm buildings *",
Bournique *
residence
road to
North Manitou
lighthouse
Scale 9 2 ? ' 4 ? '
(Approximate)
North
Alvar and Mary Bournique
Farm Spatial Organization, 1938
FIGURE 4.41
Drawing by Eric MacDonald and Katie Franks
149
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Location and Spatial Organization
Cultural resources associated with the Bournique homestead are
located in the extreme southeastern portion of the island, approxi-
mately three miles south of North Manitou Village. The buildings
are grouped into two clusters amidst a complex and somewhat
amorphous network of open spaces that also includes the island
cemetery (figure 4.41). The Bournique house and its associated
outbuildings are located in an area of old dunes approximately one-
quarter-mile west of the Lake Michigan shore. The remains of the
Bournique's barns and other farm buildings are located approxi-
mately one-quarter-mile farmer west.
Landscape Setting, Residence Cluster
The Bournique house is situated near the Lake Michigan shore in a
clearing characterized by semi-stable sandy dunes (figures 4.42 and
4.43). The house is perched on the crest of an old dune, a site that
offers views of the Manitou Passage and the Michigan mainland
through a screen of trees along the beach. From the grand front
porch of the Bournique house one still can catch glimpses of the
Manitou Passage, and hear the waves of Lake Michigan lapping
against the shoreline. The terrain between the house and lakeshore
is gently undulating and sparsely vegetated with old field and native
dune plants, including scattered juniper shrubs (Juniperis communis),
Artemisia caudata, Arabis lyrata, and Pitcher's thistle {Cirsium pitcheri),
a protected species. In some places, partially-buried fence posts and
woven wire fence protrude from the dunes. To the north and west,
the rear of the homestead complex is framed by a woodland of
sugar maple, beech, aspen, and paper birch (Betula papyrifera) trees. A
narrow roadway leads from the homestead buildings westward into
the woodland. This road connects the house site with the remnants
of the farm buildings (figure 4.44).
Figure 4.42. Alvar and Mary Bournique
residence, landscape setting, 1996. The
Bournique residence is situated amidsta
landscape of old dunes.
150
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
Figure 4.43. Blowout near the Alvar and
Mary Boumique residence, 1996. The
mobile ridges and hollows of sand created
atthe Boumique property by strong
offshore winds are suitable environments
for Pitcher's thistle (Cirsiumpitcheri), a
federally protected species.
--
■ran^w
Figure 4.44. Relict roadway connecting the Boumique residence and
farm buildings, 1996. The Boumique farm buildings were located
several hundred feet west of the house and its associated
outbuildings. The view of the farm cluster from the house is screened
by a narrow stand of woodland vegetation.
151
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
The main entrance of the Bournique house faces eastward
toward the Manitou Passage (figure 4.45). The family probably
enjoyed many spectacular sunrises from the broad porch that fully
extends across the front of their summer home. Several large paper
birch trees and one black cherry (Prunus serotind) tree are scattered in
the vicinity of the house. The Bourniques may have planted these
trees, or simply allowed natural volunteers to remain in these
locations. Relict ornamental vegetation include a lilac shrub at the
southern end of the front porch, and two groupings of spirea shrubs
south of the house. Near the southern wall of the house there is a
wooden support structure for a large cistern that once collected
water from the roof of the house. Directly north of the house are
the remnants of a horse corral, consisting now of some scattered
fence posts and woven-wire fence on the ground surface.
From the rear porch, a concrete terrace extends westward
across the full breadth of the building. A narrow concrete walkway,
lined with sugar maple trees, extends outward along an axis perpen-
dicular to the terrace. Four outbuildings are arranged along this
walkway. The largest of these, a two-story, gable-roofed ice house,
is located nearest to the house. Farther west are two gable-roofed
privies. At the end of the walkway is a concrete -lined well, and the
collapsed wooden structure of a wash house. Aligned with the end
of the concrete walkway, a boardwalk extends alongside the former
wash house. Located several yards southwest and downslope from
the residence is the Bournique's automobile garage. There is a
concrete pad at both the front and rear garage doors, and a corduroy
driveway, now partially buried by sand, extends westward from the
rear door.
Landscape Setting, Farm Cluster
The remains of the Bournique farm buildings are clustered approxi-
mately one-quarter-mile from the house and its associated outbuild-
ings (figure 4.46). Open fields are located north of the Bournique
farm complex, which is accessed by a road that extends from the
house. The former fields are delineated by a cottonwood windbreak
that extends northwestward from the grouping of farm buildings
(figure 4.47). Two apple trees are located within this clearing, but
otherwise the area is devoid of woody vegetation. Open land also
extends southwestward from the barns, bounded by a dense sugar
maple and beech woodland. The clearing is bisected by a line of old
fence posts and wire fence. A roadway passes through the farm
complex to the John and Ildri Anderson homestead, which is located
adjacent to the northwestern corner of the Bournique clearing.
Visually, the Anderson homestead appears to be part of the
Bournique farm complex. There is a small depression located in the
northwestern corner of the Bournique clearing, near the Anderson
homestead. Nearby is a pile of wood, which may be the remains of
another structure.
152
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
telephone
pole
wash house.
North
Scale
(Approximate)
Alvar and Mary Bournique Residence Complex
Site Plan
FIGURE 4.45
Drawing by Eric MacDonald and Katie Franks
153
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
old field
Nerland/Anderson house
RM
4
fence posts
windbreak
to Bournique
residence
shed ruin
North
KEY
SM = sugar maple
CW = cottonwood
RM = red maple
Scale
(Approximate)
30' 60'
Alvar and Mary Bournique Farm Complex
Site Plan
FIGURE 4.46
Drawing by Eric MacDonald and Katie Franks
154
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
Figure 4.47. Cottonwood windbreak,
Alvar and Mary Boumique farm, 1996. A
solitary row of Cottonwood trees marks
the boundary between field and pasture
areas at the Boumique farm. The
cottonwoods most likely were an attempt
to reduce erosion of the farm's thin,
sandy soils. Today the clearings in and
around the Boumique farmstead contain
numerous unvegetated, windblown
patches of sand.
Figure 4.48. Concrete water troughs and foundation of large log barn, Alvar and Mary
Boumique farm, 1996.
155
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
The largest structure, a log barn, was located north of the
road that connects the complex to the Bournique homestead.
According to Rusco, this barn contained a dance floor on the upper
level. The building was connected to the Bournique house by a
wooden plank walkway. 64 All that currently remains of this building
is a cast-concrete platform upon which are strewn the remnants of
the barn's log walls (figure 4.48). The walls appear to have consisted
of squared logs stacked upon each other and nailed together to form
modules that were then spiked into vertical posts made of several 2" x
10" boards. There are two concrete water troughs connected to the
barn foundation, one located at the southwestern corner, and the
other at the southeastern corner. Located several feet southwest of the
barn foundation is a small corn crib, the only structure that remains
fully standing in this cluster of abandoned farm buildings.
The remains of a smaller log barn (figure 4.49) are located a
few yards east of the large barn ruin. This small log barn was standing
when Shunichi Hagiwara surveyed the site in 1979. The structure had
a log base supporting a shingle-clad, gable-roofed loft. There was a
shed-roofed, lean-to addition on the southern face of the structure. 65
The barn also was still standing when the LCS inventory was com-
pleted during the summer of 1994; however, in 1996 the upper
portion of the structure was collapsed, leaving only the lower portion
of the log walls standing. The lower walls are made of large, hewn
logs, and the corners have full dovetail notches (figures 4.50 and 4.51).
A large sugar maple tree is located only a few feet south of this ruin,
and volunteer cottonwood trees have spread into the area. Two large
piles of building debris are located south of the roadway, roughly
opposite the small log barn. One of these formerly was a gable-
roofed, board-and-batten structure that remained extant at the time
of Hagiwara's survey. 66
Figure 4.49. Small log barn ruin, Alvar and Mary Bournique farm, 1996.
04 Rusco, North Manitou Island, 59.
65 Hagiwara, "Building-Structure
Inventory."
156
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
Figure 4.50. Small log barn ruin, Alvar and Mary Boumique farm, 1996. The lower
walls of this small barn were constructed of large, hewn timbers with full dovetail corner
notching.
htaJ
Figure 4.51. Corner detail, small log
barn ruin, Alvar and Mary Boumique
farm, 1996. The dovetail corner
construction technique results in a strong
stable corner joint. The technique is not
highly unusual, but it is somewhat
uncommon in the upper Midwest.
157
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 4.52. Alvar and Mary Bournique
residence, front (eastern) elevation, 1996.
67 Historic American Buildings Survey,
sketch plans, Sleeping Bear Dunes
National Lakeshore, Empire, Mich.;
David L. Fritz, "Bournique Summer
Home," Draft National Register of
Historic Places Registration Form, 10
September 1 987, Sleeping Bear Dunes
National Lakeshore, Empire, Mich.
Buildings and Structures, Residential Cluster
The architectural form and plan of the Bournique house strongly
resembles Creole domestic architecture in Louisiana (figures 4.53
and 4.54) . 67 The structure is a large story-and-a-half house with
vertical log walls, that mimic the French colonial potecmx sur solle
construction technique. The gables have clapboard siding. The
house has broad galleries extending across the east- and west-facing
elevations, and a broken-pitch gable roof (figures 4.52 and 4.55). A
wooden, centrally-placed stairway leads up to the front porch. Like
many large vernacular dwellings in the American South, the house is
oriented to take advantage of prevailing breezes, with front and rear
galleries connected by a central hall. The first floor of the
Bournique house has a central hallway with a stair, and rooms
stacked on either side. One corner of the rear porch is enclosed,
much like a Creole cabinet. The room arrangement of the upper floor
consists of three bedrooms grouped around a central hall.
The Bournique house design clearly is not a conscious attempt
to accurately replicate an authentic Creole vernacular dwelling.
However, it does exhibit several characteristics, both in external form
and appearance, that are typical of such houses. The most noteworthy
departure from early, archetypal Creole cottages is the double-pile,
central hallway plan of the Bournique house. However, the room
arrangement of the Bournique residence may be related more closely
to later derivations of Creole house plans, especially those of early-
158
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
porch
First Floor Plan
Second Floor Plan
Scale
(Approximate)
o 5' 10'
Sources: Derived from Historic American Buildings Survey
Field Notebook, 1988 (Empire, Mich.: Sleeping Bear Dunes
National Lakeshore); Eric A. MacDonald, Field Investigations, 1997.
North
Sketch Plan of the Alvar and Mary Bournique Residence
FIGURE 4.53
Drawing by Eric MacDonald
159
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Creole House Forms
"Creole" is a term applied to an entire cultural complex centered in the Gulf of Mexico coastal areas
and the lower Mississippi River. Anthropologist J ay Edwards notes that the word initially referred to a
person "derived from Old World parentage, European or African, but raised in, and acclimatized to, an
American tropical environment such as the West Indies or Louisiana." However, "Creole" now applies
to the "mixed cultural elements" of the French, Spanish, and African colonists of the Gulf Coast,
including vernacular architecture, foodways, and dialects.
Creole settlers developed distinctive forms of domestic architecture during the eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries. Early Creole houses were built using simple construction techniques, such as
poteaux en terre (vertical posts placed side-by-side in an earthen trench). Later, during the first
decades of the eighteenth century, the poteaux sur soile method (vertical posts mounted on a heavy
timber sill) became popular in the area around New Orleans. Spaces between the wall posts were
filled with bousiiiage-a mixture of mud, lime, and Spanish moss. The poteaux and bousiliage wall
assemblage usually was covered with wood clapboards.
The archetypal Creole cottage, which evolved during the first several decades of the eighteenth
century, incorporated several distinctive design elements that were especially well-suited to the warm,
humid Gulf Coast climate. The structures typically were raised above grade level, often a full story
above the ground surface. The principal dwelling spaces were located on the better-ventilated upper
level. Creole houses also typically included full-length galleries, or porches, which spanned the front
facade of the structure. Later examples were surrounded on all four sides by broad galleries. The
gallery roofs were supported by wooden colonettes, which sometimes were mounted on heavier
masonry piers. The low-pitched gallery roofs intersected the steep roof of the core of the house,
producing either gable or hip roof forms that were sharply broken in pitch.
In plan, early Creole cottages typically were one-and-a-half rooms deep, and two or three rooms wide.
These simple plans lacked interior hallways and stairs. Instead, full-width galleries served to connect
the various rooms and floor levels. All of the main rooms of the house were of equal depth, but varied
in width according to their relative social importance. The base module consisted of two asymmetrical
rooms-sa//e and chambre. These two rooms most often were heated by a common chimney with
back-to-back hearths. Most substantial Creole cottages also had a range of smaller spaces at the rear
of the house-a semi-enclosed gallery, or loggia, which separated two smaller storage or sleeping
rooms, or cabinets. The main rooms of the house opened directly onto the gallery or loggia via full-
height, double "French" doors.
After the settlement of New Orleans, trained military engineers began applying their skills to the design
of domestic buildings. The organic plans typical of early Creole vernacular architecture increasingly
gave way to more sophisticated room arrangements, some of which incorporated interior hallways and
staircases. Facades became more symmetrical, with elements located according to axial
relationships. The most popular symmetrical floor plan adopted by Spanish and French colonists
consisted of a large central salle flanked on either side by narrower rooms of equal width. After the
American revolution, an influx of Anglo-American settlers into the region further influenced the evolution
of Creole house plans. Some builders adopted a non-symmetrical "hall and parlor" core with end-wall
external chimneys, an arrangement typical of Anglo-American dwellings in the Mid-Atlantic and
Southeastern states. Other typical Creole elements were retained, however, including the full-length
front gallery, rear cabinet and loggia range, and gabled-end roofs with broken pitches.
160
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
During the mid-nineteenth century, most new Creole and Anglo-French houses were small, private
residences, slave quarters, or urban and summer cottages. The Creole house type experienced a
revival during the lumbering boom, which began in Louisiana after 1870. Regionally, the Creole form
remained popular into the early years of the twentieth century, especially around the Gulf Coast resort
communities of Mobile, Alabama, and Biloxi and Ocean Springs, Mississippi. In these areas,
residents from New Orleans adapted the Creole form to small vacation houses which had front
galleries and four-square plans.
Sources: FredB. KniffenandSamBowersHilliard, Louisiana, Its Land and People, rev. ed. (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press,
1988), 129-135; J ay D. Edwards, 'The Origins of the Louisiana Creole Cottage,"in Michael Roark, ed., French and Germans in the Mississippi
Valley: Landscape and Cultural Traditions (Cape Girardeau, Mo.: Centerfor Regional History and Cultural Heritage, Southeast Missouri State
University, 1988), 9-60; J ay D. Edwards, Louisiana's Remarkable French VernacularArchitecture, 1700-1900 (Baton Rouge: Department of
Geography & Anthropology, Louisiana State University, 1988); J ay D. Edwards, "Creole,"in Paul Oliver, ed., VernacularArchitecture of the
World, vol. 3 (Cambridge, U.K.; New York: Cambridge University Press, 1997), 1904-1906.
logia
gallery
i
i
i
.j.
Type M2i (ca. 1820)
cabinet
hall
cabinet
salle
salle
sails
salle
i
NO SCALE
gallery
i
i
Type M2i2 (ca. 1860)
Source: Derived from Jay D. Edwards, Louisiana's Remarkable French Vernacular Architecture,
1700-1900 (Baton Rouge: Department of Geography & Anthropology Louisiana State University
1988), Fig. 47.
Two Symmetrical Creole Floorplans
FIGURE 4.54
Drawing by Eric MacDonald and Katie Franks
161
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 4.55. Alvar and Mary bournique
residence, lateral (southern) elevation,
1996. The overall form and vertical log
cladding of the Bournique residence may
have been inspired by Gulf Coast
vernaculararchitecture.
twentieth-century Gulf Coast summer cottages, which were based on
the four-square room arrangement. The fact that the Bournique's
North Manitou residence also was intended primarily as a summer
home, makes the possible link to Gulf Coast resort architecture even
more intriguing. However, it is not known whether this affinity to
Gulf Coast Creole vernacular architecture is mere chance, or whether
it was intended by the building's owners or builder. Although of
French descent, the Bournique family came to North Manitou Island
from Chicago. Nicholas Feilen, the presumed builder of the house,
was of German descent and also came to the island from Illinois.
The Bournique ice house is, perhaps, the most architecturally
striking outbuilding on North Manitou Island (figure 4.56). It is a
two-story, gable-roofed structure. The first floor has vertical log walls,
similar to those of the Bournique house. The upper story is delin-
eated from the lower portion of the building by flared eaves. The
structure is clad with square wood shingles, and decorative wooden
shingles in the gables. The two-story design of the building is un-
usual. Ice was placed in the upper level, and the lower level was used
as cool storage for milk and other perishables. 68
Other standing outbuildings include a three-hole privy with
vertical log walls and a gable roof, and a two-hole privy with clap-
board siding and a gable roof (figure 4.57). The Bournique automo-
bile garage is a story-and-a-half, gable-roofed structure with a cast
Rusco, North Manitou Island, 59.
162
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
f "A
<*-■*
Figure 4.56. Alvar and Mary Bournique ice house, 1996. The Bournique ice house is
one of the most visually intriguing structures on North Manitou Island. Its form,
decoration, and exterior cladding materials complement the architecture of the
residence.
Figure 4.57. Alvar and Mary Bournique
privies, 1996. Privies of two different
designs line the walkway thatleads downhill
from the terrace behind the Bournique
residence. One of the privies, clad with
vertical logs, evidently was designed to
match the architecture of the residence and
ice house.
163
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 4.58. Alvar and Mary Bournique
automobile garage, 1996. The Bourniques
probably found theirautomobile to be a
convenientand efficient mode of
transportation from their remote summer
home atthe southeastern tip of the island.
However, the difficulty of maneuvering
early-model automobiles overthe
property's loose, sandy soils is suggested
by the remnantcorduroy driveway that
extends outward from the western garage
entrance. Othersegments of corduroy
surface may remain elsewhere on the
Bournique farm, buried beneath drifts of
sand.
concrete floor and clapboard siding (figure 4.58). It has an upper
storage loft, and sliding doors on both gable ends.
Buildings and Structures, Farm Cluster
Of the buildings associated with the Bourniques' agricultural
activities on North Manitou, only a corncrib remains standing. It is a
small gable-roofed structure with wooden slat walls that taper
upward.
All of the Bournique buildings are deteriorating steadily. The
house, ice house, and garage are severely dilapidated. The wood
shingle roof is in ruinous condition, and the interior of the house is
rapidly decaying.
Contributing Landscape Features, Residence Cluster
Horse corral
Concrete walkways
Boardwalk
Log driveway
Maple trees
Wash house / laundry (ruin)
Spirea shrubs
Lilac shrubs
Boulders
Cistern structure
Fence posts & wire fence
Well (concrete side walls and
woo
den
cover
164
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
Contributing Landscape Features, Farm Cluster
Rum #1
Rum #2
Pit
Pile of wood
Cast concrete water troughs
Fence posts and wire fence
Apple trees
Cottonwood windbreak
Small Barn (ruin)
Structure Number:
Dimensions: 16'-0" x 16'-7"
Foundation: log sill
Walls: log, dovetail notching
Large Barn (ruin)
Structure Number:
Dimensions: 33'-4" x 37-7"
Foundation: cast concrete
Walls: hewn log (none stand-
ing) and vertical posts (planks
nailed together)
Contributing Structures, Residence Cluster
House
Structure Number: 55102883
Dimensions: 36'-7" x 47-7'
Foundation: wood post on sill
Walls: vertical log
Roof: gable, three gabled
dormers; wood shingles
Privy #1
Structure Number: 55102887
Dimensions: 6'-4" x 5'-4"
Foundation: wood post on sill
Walls: wood lap siding
Roof: gable; wood shingle
Garage
Structure Number: 55102884
Dimensions: 16'-5" x 22' A"
Foundation: wood
Walls: wood lap siding; vertical
boards with saw-tooth ends in
gables
Roof: wood shingles
Privy #2
Structure Number: 55102888
Dimensions: 6'-0" x 6'-0"
Foundation: wood post on sill
Walls: vertical log
Roof: gable; wood shingle
Ice House / Storage Shed
Structure Number: 55102885
Dimensions: 14'-0" x 14'-0"
Foundation: wood post on sill
Walls: vertical log, wood
shingle
Roof: gable, wood shingle
165
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Contributing Structures, Farm Cluster
Corn Crib
Structure Number: 53122893
Dimensions: 4'-4"x6'-l"
Foundation: wood posts
Walls: wooden slats
Roof: wood shingle
69 Alan. Green to Kim Mann, n.d.,
Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore, Empire, Mich.; Donna
Elizabeth Kelenske Heater, "Recollec-
tions," The S mallT owner, Spring 1984.
70 U.S. Census Office, "Twelfth [1900]
Census of the United States — Popula-
tion."
71 Sources disagree regarding the date of
John Anderson's immigration to the
United States. The manuscript schedules
for the 1900 federal census of popula-
tion and Homestead Application No.
9377 indicate that Anderson came to the
United States in 1882. The manuscript
schedules for the 1920 federal census of
population show that Anderson
immigrated in 1879; Fritz ("History
Data Report," 85) states that Anderson
immigrated in 1878.
72 Application No. 9377; Final Certificate
No. 6940, National Archives and
Records Administration, Washington,
DC The site of John O. and Ildri
Anderson's house, b am and fields is
located south of the log house built by
Mads Nerland. If the testimony of
John Anderson is accurate, the family
may have moved to the Nerland house
after 1896.
Sites with Structural
Ruins
Mads and Gertrude Nerland / John and Ildri
Anderson Farm
SE y 4 , NW l A„ Section 22, T-31N R-14W
History and Agricultural Data
Mads Nerland, a carpenter from Kristiansand, Norway, immigrated
to the United States with his daughter Mary in 1888. His wife,
Gertrude, and daughters Ildri and Anna followed in 1889, settling
into a house that Mads had built on North Manitou Island that same
year. During the following year, Ildri Nerland (b. 1874) married
North Manitou resident John OpafJ Anderson. Tragically, only a few
years later, Mads Nerland drowned while fishing in Lake Michigan.
Gertrude Nerland later married a man named Hansen and moved to
Suttons Bay. She died in 1916. John and Ildri Anderson remained on
the island, residing in the house built by Ildri's father in 1889. 69
John Olaf Anderson was born in Norway during February
I860. 70 He probably immigrated to the United States around 1882. 71
On 6 May 1890, he submitted his application for a 160-acre home-
stead claim located in the WV2 NW% and WV2 SW l A of Section 22,
T31N, R14W. According to the homestead records, Anderson and
his family settled on the property that same year. By the time the
proof was recorded in 1896, Anderson had cultivated two to ten
acres of land for four years. He had built a frame house and barn on
the property, together valued at $200, where he, his wife, and their
two children had resided continuously since May 1890. Witnesses
bearing testimony on Anderson's behalf were North Manitou
residents Albert Firestone (age 36) and Andrew Paetschow (age
37). 72
166
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
Ildri and John Anderson were the parents of twelve children:
Albert (b. 1891), Eda (b. 1893), Martin (b. 1896), George (b. 1898),
Eleanor (b. 1901), Arthur, Hans, John, Gertrude, Gladys, Margaret,
and Mable. 73 According to Gladys (Anderson) Dustin, the family
farmed at their homestead until 1909, when John Anderson moved
the family to Crescent. There, Anderson was employed by the A. J.
White and Son sawmill and continued to work at Crescent until the
Smith and Hull lumbering operation ceased. 74 Rusco states that the
Anderson family also was engaged in farming at Crescent, taking up
residency at the Peter Swanson farm. 75
After lumber milling at Crescent ceased in 1915, the Ander-
son family returned to the home site built by Mads and Gertrude
Nerland. At the time of the 1920 federal population census, John
Anderson gave his occupation as a salaried farm laborer. He may
have worked for the Manitou Island Syndicate, although it is also
possible that he was employed as caretaker of the Bournique farm
in 1920, since the Andersons performed this function for the
Bourniques for many years during the 1920s and 1930s. 76 John and
Ildri Anderson's sons Martin and George were lifesavers for the U. S.
Coast Guard. Their daughter, Eleanor, was a "servant for a private
family," and son Arthur was a farm laborer "working out." 77 John
Anderson was a full-time employee of the Manitou Island Associa-
tion during 1925-27. Albert and Henry Anderson also were full-time
MIA employees during this time, and the association's account
records indicate that payments occasionally were made to Ildri
Anderson and "Mrs. Henry Anderson" for "boarding men" during
the summer and early fall harvest seasons. Although they relied on
outside employment for most of their income, John and Ildri Ander-
son continued some subsistence agricultural activities at their home.
The Andersons maintained a farm garden during the 1920s, and
records from the Manitou Island Association indicate that John
Anderson sold a cow to the Manitou Island Association in 1928,
suggesting that he also was farming on his own account during this
time. 78 John Anderson died in Leland in 1955; the family sold its
island property to the Angell Foundation in 1963.
Location and Landscape Setting
The Anderson farmstead is located in the southeastern section of the
island. The house built in 1889 by Mads Nerland is located approxi-
mately three and a half miles south of the village, and one-half-mile
west of the road that leads past the cemetery from the eastern shore
road. The house is situated south of the island cemetery and west of
the Bournique farmstead, in close proximity to the Bournique barn
site (figure 4.41). Visually, the Nerland-Anderson house appears to
"belong" to the Bournique farm complex. Several large sugar maple
trees surround the Nerland-Anderson house and line the former
roadway that connects the site to the Bournique buildings to the east
(figure 4.59). The site is bounded on the west by a wall of dense, sugar
Alan Green to Kim Mann; U.S.
Census Office, "Twelfth [1900] Census
of the United States — Population." The
Andersons are not included in the 1910
federal census of North Manitou
Island. The 1920 federal population
census gives the ages of Arthur, Hans,
Gertrude, Gladys, Margaret and Mable
as 16, 11, 10, 8, 5, and 3, respectively.
North Manitou cemetery records
indicate that John Anderson died
prematurely in 1 907. He is buried in the
island cemetery.
74 Fritz, "History Data Report," 85;
Rusco, North Manitou Island, 103.
75 Rusco, North Nlanitou Island, 74.
76 Fritz states that Anderson "worked "in
behalf of the Syndicate under Mr.
NewhalPs direction." His source "was
Gladys (Anderson) Dustin. See Fritz,
"History Data Report," 85.
77 U. S. Department of Commerce,
Bureau of Census, "Fourteenth [1920]
Census of the United States — Popula-
tion," microfilm copy of manuscript
schedules, State Historical Society of
Wisconsin, Madison.
78 Fritz, "History Data Report," 28;
Manitou Island Association Accounts
Journal. Fritz ("History Data Report,"
78) states that John Anderson "was
employed at the MIA sawmill during
the late 1920s.
167
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
hemlock
KEY
SM =
RM =
Sugar Maple
Red Maple
North
Scale
(Approximate)
15' 30'
Mads and Gertrude Nerland / John and lldri Anderson
Farmstead Site Plan
FIGURE 4.59
Drawing by Eric MacDonald and Katie Franks
168
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
*£4*
maple-beech forest. To the south and east are clearings associated with
the Bournique horse ranch. The area has an open, grove-like charac-
ter; colonization by new, woody species appears to be minimal. A
large hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) tree is located northwest of the house.
Other cultural landscape elements at the Nerland-Anderson house
site include a well and a wooden platform for a cistern, both of which
are situated along the southern elevation of the building.
The site of John Anderson's 1890 homestead house is located
approximately one-half-mile south of the Nerland residence, not far
from the former lighthouse site on the southeastern tip of the island.
This house apparently disappeared from the North Manitou landscape
quite rapidly. Anderson's grandson related that little remained of the
house when his mother and grandmother visited the site during an
outing in the mid-1 920s. 79 According to Rusco, the site was marked
only by "surface remains of a barn or stable and a hillside fruit cellar.
A group of apple trees mark the center of the clearing and there is an
old trail leading to the south end lighthouse point." 80
Buildings and Structures
Of the buildings associated with John O. and Ildri Anderson's home-
stead on North Manitou Island, only the house built in 1889 by Mads
Nerland remains standing. This structure is currently in an advanced
state of decay (figure 4.60). The house was structurally intact, albeit
deteriorated, when Shunichi Hagiwara surveyed the property in
1979. 81 However, by 1996 much of the front (eastern) elevation had
Figure 4.60. Mads and Gertrude
Nerland / J ohn and Ildri Anderson
house, 1996. The original one-room, or
single pen, unit of this log structure may
have been built by North Manitou
pioneer Mads nerland, making this
house one of the oldest architectural
resources on the island. Unfortunately,
the house is in an advanced state of
decay.
79 Alan Green to Kim Mann.
80 Rusco, North Manitou Island, 82.
31 Shunichi Hagiwara, "Building-
Structure Inventory."
169
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
collapsed inward, and the second floor of the dwelling had fallen onto
the first, which itself was caving into the cellar below. A lean-to
woodshed addition on the rear of the house had completely col-
lapsed. 82
The Nerland- Anderson house was a one-and-a-half-story,
cross-gable dwelling. A wrap-around porch extended across the
entire eastern facade and much of the southern facade. The house
was constructed of hewn, squared logs and clad with wood shingles.
Internal evidence suggests that the structure was built in two stages:
the eastern rectangular section was built first, and another rectangu-
lar unit was added to the rear sometime later (figure 4.61). A dete-
riorated staircase along the southern wall suggests that the older,
eastern section had a loft above. The rear addition, which was used
as a kitchen, has a wood frame and wood shingle cladding. An old
iron cook-stove and a sink remain inside the kitchen. A box window
used for cool storage is positioned above the sink; it opens into the
remains of the lean-to woodshed.
Contributing Landscape Features
well hemlock tree
roadway lawn
sugar maple trees cistern stand
Contributing Structures
House (ruin):
Structure Number: 553122890
Dimensions: approx. 32'-8" x 21' -T
Foundation: stone
Walls: log; wood frame; wood shingle cladding
Roof: wood shingle
82 Heater, "Recollections." A photo-
graph published with this article shows
this lean-to addition and the rest of the
structure to be intact.
170
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
cistern structure
original 1889
log structure
later addition
Scale
(Approximate)
5'
10'
North
Sketch Plan of the Mads and Gertrude Nerland /
John and lldri Anderson House Ruin
FIGURE 4.61
Drawing by Eric MacDonald and Katie Franks
171
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
83 Sources provide conflicting data
regarding the birth, immigration, and
marriage dates of Adam and Mary
Maleski. On page eight of his "History
Data Report," Fritz notes that Adam
and his brother Frank traveled from
Wisconsin to the eastern side of Lake
Michigan in 1874. On page 21, Rusco
(North Manitou Island) states that the
Maleskis moved to North Manitou ca.
1875. According to the manuscript
schedules of the 1900 federal popula-
tion census, Adam "was bom in 1848,
and Mary "was bom in 1849. Both
immigrated in 1878, an impossibility
since their daughter Mary, "who had been
born in Wisconsin, "was age seven in
1880. Perhaps the Maleskis moved to
North Manitou Island in 1878.
However, the manuscript schedules of
the 1880 federal population census
indicate that Maleski's second-oldest
daughter, Anastasia (age 5), "was born in
Michigan. This suggests that the
Maleskis may have been on North
Manitou by sometime during 1875. The
manuscript schedules for the 1920
federal population census indicate that
Adam had immigrated to the United
States in 1 868, Mary in 1 872, and that
both had been naturalized in 1910.
84 U. S. Census Office, "Tenth [1880]
Census of the United States — Popula-
tion," microfilm copy of manuscript
schedules, Library of Michigan, Lansing.
85 Fritz, "History Data Report," 8.
86 Fritz, "History Data Report," 70.
87 U.S. Department of Commerce,
Bureau of Census, "Thirteenth [1910]
Census of the United States — Popula-
tion." The other farmer "was John L.
Johnson, "who lived in the southwest-
ern part of the island. Paul Maleski "was
one of two mail carriers on North
Manitou Island in 1910; the other "was
Johnnie Paetschow
Adam and Mary Maleski Farm
NE l A, NW 'A, & NW l A, NE l A„ Section 28, T-32N R-15W
History and Agricultural Data
The Maleski family's residency on North Manitou Island spanned
three generations and nearly seventy years. Adam Maleski (b. ca.
1850) emigrated from Ocwiecim in Polish Prussia around 1868. He
settled first in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, then traveled with his brother
to North Manitou Island, where he found employment as a wood
chopper. He married Mary Leterske in Milwaukee sometime during
1870-1873. Their first child, Mary, was born in Milwaukee in 1873.
Shortly thereafter, the Maleskis moved to North Manitou Island,
arriving, perhaps, in 1875 or 1878. 83 The 1880 federal census of
North Alanitou Island lists "Adam Malshiska," a fisherman, and his
wife Alary, both emigrants from Prussia. They had five children in
their household: Mary, Anastasia, Elizabeth, Josephine, and
Martha. 84 Four more children were born to Adam and Mary after
1880, but two of them died in infancy 85
Sometime during the late 1880s Adam acquired land in the
northern half of Section 28, T32N, R14W where the family engaged
in subsistence agriculture. 86 The Maleskis later sold surplus farm
commodities, especially pork and beef, to the families of men
employed by the U. S. Life Saving Service. The Maleskis eventually
built up a large herd of beef cattle. Instead of fencing their prop-
erty, and confining the cattle to their land, the family used the open-
range system. In addition to farming, the Maleskis relied on fishing
for a significant portion of their livelihood throughout the late
nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The family maintained a
substantial fishing camp and dock situated on the island's northeast-
ern shore near a location called "Vessel Point" (figure 4.62).
At the time of the 1910 federal census, Adam Maleska [sic]
and his wife, Mary, lived on the farm home with sons Paul, age 26, a
mail carrier, and John, age 24, a fisherman. Adam Maleski was
identified as one of only two farmers on North Manitou Island in
1910. 87 Paul Maleski eventually took over management of the
Maleski farm, which had evolved into a large-scale beef operation
by the end of the nineteenth century. The Maleskis' herd consisted
of up to two hundred head of beef cattle, which roamed the island.
The cattle were branded to distinguish them from the free-ranging
cattle of other island farmers. However, the Maleskis' practice of
allowing their cattle herd to roam freely on the island conflicted
with the aspirations of the Newhall family, who acquired large tracts
of land on North Manitou in the 1890s. John Newhall, who man-
aged the family's island farming operation, owned two stallions,
which he gave free reign over his extensive land holdings. Eventu-
ally, the Maleskis were forced to discontinue their beef cattle
operation. Like most of the island farmers, they managed to keep
172
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
only as many cattle as they could maintain on the acreage that they
owned. 88
After they were forced to abandon free-range cattle ranch-
ing, the Maleskis concentrated on truck farming, catering to the
summer resort population and the families of the island U. S. Life
Saving Service. In their one-acre garden plot the Maleskis grew
carrots, cucumbers, sweet corn, onions, beans, rutabagas, peas,
beets, potatoes, and parsnips. 89 To protect their crops from the wild
hogs that roamed the island, the Maleski family was forced to
enclose their property with a cedar rail fence. The hogs had been
released on the island during the 1910s by Peter Stormer, who
intended to use them to feed his logging crews. The wild hogs
eventually were eliminated, but the white tailed deer released by the
Manitou Island Association in 1926 quickly became an even bigger
problem for the Maleskis. They were forced to construct a tall wire
fence around the garden plot in order to exclude the voracious
deer. 90
In the 1920 census, Paul Maleski is listed as a farm laborer
working on his own account. He lived with his wife Josephine, age
23, daughter Helen (b. 1915), son Chester (b. 1918), father Adam,
and mother Mary 91 Three more children — Paul Jr. (b. 1921), Edward
(b. 1922), and Patricia (b.1931) — were born to Paul and Josephine
Maleski after 1920. 92 Paul Maleski, who delivered mail between
Crescent and the eastern side of the island during the lumber boom
Figure 4.62. Adam Maleski fishing
camp, ca. 1910. Situated on Lake
Michigan at the base of a steep bluff, the
Maleski family continued to use these
fish shanties and dock into the 1920s.
ss Paul Maleski, Jr., interview with
Betty L. Mann, 6 February 1996, audio
tape recording on file at Leelanau
Historical Museum, Leland. Michigan.
89 Furst, My Point of View (n.p., 1992),
54; Rusco, North Manitou Island, 71-72.
9u Paul Maleski, Jr., interview by the
authors, 26 July 1997, notes filed at
Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore, Empire, Mich.
91 U. S. Department of Commerce,
Bureau of Census, "Fourteenth [1920]
Census of the United States — Popula-
tion."
92 Paul Maleski, Jr., interview by Eric
MacDonald, 28 July 1 997, notes filed at
Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore, Empire, Mich.; Paul Maleski,
Jr., audio tape recording, 29 August
1984, Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore, Empire, Mich.
173
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
of the early 1910s, inherited the family farm after Adam Maleski's
death in 1921. 93 The Maleski farm encompassed approximately forty
acres at this time.
The farmstead included a diverse array of structures, typical
of a small, diversified farming enterprise. Adam and Mary Maleski
occupied a one-and-a-half-story "pioneer" house that Adam had
built when he settled on the property. It was constructed of pine
and hemlock lumber that had washed ashore from shipwrecks, and
consisted of three rooms and an upper loft that was accessed by an
external stair. The pioneer house faced east, and had flower gardens
in front near the entrance (figure 4.63). A vegetable garden was
located a few yards southeast of the pioneer house. Paul Maleski
built a second house for his family around 1913 (Figure 4.64). This
building also was constructed primarily of found materials, as well
as from "reject" lumber from the mill at Crescent.
There were three large barns on the farmstead. The largest
barn accommodated more than thirty cattle; another barn housed
four horses, thirteen head of cattle, and three calves; a small barn
located behind the Paul Maleski house accommodated horses. Like
the Maleski houses, most of the materials for the barns consisted of
drift lumber that was hauled up the bluff to the farm. Other out-
buildings included two corn cribs and a garage, the latter built to
house a 1921 Ford Model-T that the family acquired in 1929. The
Maleski garage was constructed on the site of the early vegetable
garden. 94
Giles Merritt recalled that during the mid- 1920s the Maleski
family farmed primarily for their own consumption (figure 4.65).
Merritt estimated that Paul Maleski and his brother John, who
owned a small homestead near the northeastern shore of the island,
cultivated a total of about 20 acres of land. 95 Paul Maleski, Jr.,
recounted that his father utilized a three-year rotation in his fields.
Figure 4.63. Mary Maleski in her flower
garden in frontofthe Maleski "pioneer"
house, ca. 1920s.
93 Fritz, "History Data Report," 70.
According to Rusco (North Manitou
Island, 70-71), Adam died in 1922.
94 Paul Maleski, Jr., interview with the
authors, 26 July 1997; Paul Maleski, Jr.,
audio tape recording, 29 August 1984.
95 Fritz, "History Data Report," 24; 28.
174
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
Figure 4.64. Paul and J osephine Maleski family, ca. 1920s, posed in front of the frame house
builtby Paul Maleski during the previous decade. Standing, left to right: Paul, J r.,J osephine, an
unidentified relative from Milwaukee, Edward. Seated, leftto right: Paul, Sr., Chester, Mary.
Figure 4.65. Paul Maleski and draft horse, "Prince," plowing a field on the Maleski
farm, ca. 1920s.
175
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
96 Paul Maleski, Jr., interview "with the
authors, 26 July 1997.
97 Manitou Island Association Accounts
Journal.
98 Paul Maleski, Jr., interview with the
authors, 26 July 1997.
99 Memorandum, [W] Craig Keith to
[Board of Trustees, William R. Angell
Foundation], 31 December 1976; Rusco,
North Manitou Island, 21; Fritz, "History
Data Report," 21, 35.
One year consisted of a cover crop that was plowed under the follow-
ing year. Potatoes were planted the second year, followed by corn
during the third year. Part of the cleared land was used for pasture for
the family's small dairy herd. According to the junior Maleski, his
father kept approximately five dairy cows, one of which was reserved
strictly for family use. 96
Paul Maleski's relationship with the island's large property
owner, the Manitou Island Syndicate, was somewhat adversarial.
Like the Newhall family, the syndicate opposed Paul Maleski's
efforts to keep large herds of beef cattle on the island, partially
because the syndicate intended to do the same on its property. The
MIA deer herd also posed a significant nuisance to the Maleskis'
efforts to earn income through market gardening. Nonetheless, the
association also represented a significant source of monetary in-
come in the cash-poor local island economy, and the Maleskis
occasionally engaged in business transactions with the association.
For example, MIA records indicate that Paul Maleski sold one cow
and one steer to the association during 1924-1929, and that the
Maleski children were employed by the association during the cherry
harvest seasons. 9 ' Paul, Jr., worked for the MIA for two summers.
His duties included milking the association's nine dairy cows, caring
for calves, cleaning the barn, and hoeing corn. He also worked at
the MIA sawmill at North Manitou Village. 98
Mary Maleski continued to live in the "pioneer" home until
her death in 1930. Paul Maleski, Jr., left North Manitou Island in
1938. Two years later, Paul, Sr., and Josephine Maleski retired from
their island farm, and moved to the mainland, leaving behind home
furnishings, farm equipment, and their Model-T Ford. Paul Maleski,
Jr., returned to the island periodically during 1946 and 1947, but
after experiencing life on the mainland he decided "there was no
future in rutabaggies." After working for the Traverse City Police
Department for several years, he established a mink farm on the
mainland, which he later developed into a successful hog farm. The
Angell Foundation paid Paul and Josephine Maleski $4,500 for their
island property in 1955. The foundation acquired other lands nearby
at about the same time. 99 Paul Maleski, Sr., died in 1976, at age 93,
and is buried on the mainland.
Location and Landscape Setting
The Adam and Mary Maleski farm is located in the northeastern
portion of North Manitou Island, approximately one-half mile west
of the Lake Michigan shore, and about three miles northwest of the
village. It is reached via one of two roads that extend northward
from the village, one of which follows the crest of the bluff along
the eastern shore; the other runs parallel to it approximately one-
half-mile farther inland. The farmstead is located in the southwest-
ern corner of a clearing of approximately forty acres (figure 4.66).
176
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
Frank Maleski ;>»'...-' ; -'
grave site ■'.'•':.''•
.,>>'• Adam and Mary Maleski
• r*t; '"' house site •
vegetable
garden
area •
black cherry
paper birch
North
Scale
(Approximate)
30'
hemlock
60'
Adam and Mary Maleski Farmstead Site Plan
FIGURE 4.66
Drawing by Eric MacDonald and Katie Franks
177
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 4.67. Adam and Mary Maleski
farm clearing, 1996. Although notlarge in
extent, the clearing bears the imprintof
approximately seventy years of
subsistence agriculture. The size and
shape of the clearing appearto have
changed little since itwas recorded by
aerial photograph in 1938.
Surrounded by a forest of sugar maple, beech, and hemlock, the
clearing was once used for agricultural crops, livestock pasture, and
orchard.
Although the Maleski farm was abandoned nearly sixty years
ago, the edges of the clearing remain sharply defined, and the space
remains relatively free of invasive woody vegetation (4.67). Only a
few individuals of Juniperis communis have managed to colonize the
opening. This high degree of spatial integrity is probably due to the
herbivory of the island's substantial deer herd, which the Maleskis
valiantly battled during the 1930s and early 1940s. A small cluster
of apple trees is located along the eastern edge of the clearing, and
a rock pile marks the northeastern corner where the trail enters the
space. Farther east, near the center of the clearing, is the site of the
Maleski's vegetable garden. The former extent of the garden area is
roughly demarcated by several tall wooden poles, which once served
as fence posts to exclude the island deer.
Viewed from within the clearing, the farmstead structures
are almost completely screened by a remnant apple orchard (figure
4.68). The orchard, which is situated east and northwest of the
house, consists of numerous dead and living apple trees and a pear
tree. At least two grave sites are located in the orchard, both of
which recently were marked by the Manitou Island Memorial Soci-
ety. The burial site of Adam Maleski is indicated by a concrete cross
near a dead apple tree that is located several yards east of the
178
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
Figure 4.68. Apple trees, Adam and
Mary Maleski farm, 1996. Aside from
the vast commercial fruit plantation at the
former Frederic Beuham homestead,
the apple and pear trees at the maleski
farm constitute the largest farmstead
orchard on the island. From several
vantage points the trees effectively
screen views of the house ruin.
house. Farther northeast, beside a pear tree, the grave of Frank
Maleski is similarly marked (figure 4.69). Near the center of the
orchard, a sugar maple, a white cedar tree, and two cultivated rose
shrubs are located beside a deep hole that may have been a well.
The farmstead site is marked by a pair of large hemlock
trees located near the house. Also near the house are several sugar
maple trees, which certainly must have been present when the
Maleskis lived at the farm. Other relict ornamental vegetation in the
vicinity of the house include a large clump of lilacs north of the
structure, and a small clump of sedum south of the house. In front
(east) of the house, near the entrance, there is a cultivated rose
shrub that has slightly fragrant, double pink blooms in mid-summer.
Buildings and Structures
As of 1997, the Paul Maleski house was the only structure standing
at the farmstead. However, it was in ruinous condition — the roof
failing, and the entire structure caving inward (figure 4.70). The
house is a one-and-a-half story, wood-frame dwelling with a side
gable roof and wood lap siding. The terrain slopes downward from
the house toward the west. Located downhill, several yards north-
west of the house, is a barn ruin, now merely a mass of wooden
debris that is completely engulfed in a thicket of raspberries (Bo/bus
sp.) and other vegetation. The barn, surrounded only by dense,
herbaceous vegetation, was collapsing when Shunichi Hagiwara
inventoried the property in 1979. Only the house and the garage
were standing when Fritz completed his inspection of the site in
September 1985. The garage was badly deteriorated, the roof of the
barn had collapsed, and the building was considered a ruin. 100 The
garage, currently a heap of wooden debris, is located east of the
house amidst the orchard. Another small pile of debris is located
downslope a few yards west of the house.
Figure 4.69. Frank Maleski grave site,
Adam and Mary Maleski farm, 1996.
The pear tree marks the grave of one of
two Maleskis buried on the family's
former North Manitou farm. The
Manitou Island Memorial Society has
commemorated each grave with a small
concrete cross.
Fritz, "History Data Report," 72.
179
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 4.70. Paul Maleski house ruin,
1996. The Maleski house was built during
the early- or mid-1910s forthe growing
family of Paul, Sr., andj osephine Maleski.
An earlier "pioneer house, "which Adam
Maleski builtduring the late 1870s using drift
lumbersalvaged from Lake Michigan,
formerly was located several yards to the
northeast
Contributing Landscape Features
barn ruin apple trees (orchard remnant)
garage ruin white cedar tree
shed ruin pear tree
earthen depression lilacs
fence posts spirea shrubs
grave markers rose shrubs
hemlock trees sedum
sugar maple trees
Contributing Structures
House (ruin)
Structure Number: 58100867
Dimensions: 21 '-5" x23'-0"
Foundation: None
Walls: wood lap siding
Roof: side gable, shingle
180
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
Lars Christian Alstrom Homestead / Peter Stormer
Farm
E Vz SW l A & W Vz SE l A Section 21, T31N R14W
History and Agricultural Data
On 19 December 1884, Lars Christian Alstrom filed a homestead
application for 160 acres of land in the E'/ 2 SW% and WVz SE% of
Section 21, T31N, R14W, North Manitou Island. Alstrom, a Swed-
ish immigrant, indicated on his application that he had previously
worked on the island as a farm hand. His claim consisted of land
that had been logged by Nicholas Pickard "years ago." After clearing
some land, Alstrom constructed a house on 1 April 1885, with the
assistance of seven men. He took up residence there four days later.
The house was a log structure 14' x 21', furnished with a stove, chairs,
bed, and a table. By 1887, Alstrom had acquired a plow, wagon, drag,
hoe, and rakes.
Final testimony on Alstrom's homestead claim was given at
Grayling, Michigan, on 15 November 1890. At that time Alstrom
lived on the property with his wife, son, and daughter. He had six
acres under cultivation, which had yielded a total of 200-300
bushels of potatoes, corn, rye, oats and turnips during each of six
seasons. Alstrom also had a frame barn that measured 20' x 30'. He
owned four cows, two calves, two horses, two pigs, and two sheep.
Alstrom reported that he worked two or three days at a time for
neighbors "in the spring and harvest time" but otherwise "staid [sic]
to home." The property was patented by Alstrom on 2 November
1891, and approved on 9 September 1891. The witnesses were
Andrew Anderson, 67 years old, a North Manitou resident at Sec-
tion 20, T31N R14W, and Johan Oscar Peterson Anderson, a farmer
and a fisherman. Alstrom's neighbors were August Anderson, and
John Anderson, who resided in sections 21 and 22 respectively. 101
The 1900 federal census of Leland Township (which encom-
passed North Manitou Island) lists Christian Olestrom [sic], who
was born in July 1851, and his wife Nartha [sic?], born in September
1854. Both were Swedish immigrants. They had been married for
sixteen years, and had immigrated to the United States in 1884.
They had three children, two of whom were living, although neither
was residing in the household at the time. Alstrom claimed that he
owned his farm free. 102 According to Rusco, the Alstroms sold their
farm to Milton Armstrong in 1901. 103 Armstrong's ownership of the
property ended sometime before 1909, and the farm subsequently
became the home of Peter Stormer. 104
Peter Stormer's parents, Henry and Anna (Lewis) Stormer,
along with their daughter Greta, emigrated from Prussia in 1857.
The family settled first in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They moved to
North Manitou Island during the fall of 1859, where they "carried
on agricultural pursuits for several years." 105 Peter Stormer was born
101 Homestead Application #8745,
Final Application #6590, National
Archives and Records Administration,
Washington, D.C.
102 U.S. Census Office, "Twelfth [1900]
Census of the United States — Popula-
tion."
Rusco, North Manitou Island, 52.
104 Fritz, "History Data Report," 86-87.
105 Elvin Sprague, The Grand Traverse
Region, Historical and Descriptive (Chicago:
H. R Page & Co., 1884), 466-467.
According to Josephine Alford Hollister
("Summer Resort"), Henry and Anna
Stormer's North Manitou farm "was part
of the series of clearings now associated
with the "Carlson place."
181
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 4.71. Peter Stormer and sled
loaded with logs cut on North Manitou
Island, ca. 1910s.
Figure 4.72. Peter Stormer family on North Manitou Island during the mid-1910s.
106 U.S. Census Office, "Eighth [1860]
Census of the United States — Popula-
tion," microfilm copy of manuscript
schedules, Library of Michigan, Lansing;
Hollister, "Summer Resort"; Fritz,
"History Data Report," 86. The
manuscript schedules of the 1860
federal population census suggest that
Peter Stormer "was born five years earlier.
137 Fritz, "History Data Report," 86-87;
Rusco, "North Manitou Island, 52;
Hollister, "Summer Resort."
1 " s The 1920 federal census manuscript
indicates that Stormerlived on a rented
farm, suggesting that the property
remained in the possession of the
Newhalls or the Manitou Island
Syndicate during his tenure there.
109 Fritz, "History Data Report," 86-87.
110 Furst, My Point of View, 60-61.
on the island in I860. 106 In 1864 the Stormers moved to the Michigan
mainland, settling in Empire Township.
Around 1908, Peter Stormer secured a contract for logging
on North Manitou Island (figure 4.71). This probably was with
Benjamin Newhall. The timber that Stormer harvested was first sent
to mills on the mainland. Around 1917 Stormer constructed a large
dock at the southern end of the island, near the location of Nicho-
las Pickard's first wooding station and not far from the Bournique
homestead. He constructed a sawmill to which logs were hauled
from camps at the northern and southern ends of the island. 107
Sometime after 1913, Stormer moved his family to the
Alstrom farm (figure 4.72). It is not clear whether Stormer actually
purchased the property from Armstrong, as Fritz suggests, or
whether Armstrong sold the property to Benjamin Newhall who in
turn leased it to Stormer as part of their business arrangement. 108
Stormer used the farm to sustain his family, as well as the men and
animals working in his two lumber camps on North Manitou (figure
4.73). Ethel Stormer recalled that the family raised "a great many
cattle and had to keep about 40 to 45 horses for the lumber camps.
Consequently they needed a great deal of grain and hay — some of
which they raised on the island, but large quantities had to be
hauled from the mainland, sometimes across the frozen lake during
the winter." 109 Glenn Furst recalled that the Stormer family's diet
included potatoes, beef, fresh milk, and homemade cottage cheese.
The Stormer farmstead had a horse barn, a cow barn, a place for
pigs and chickens, a blacksmith shop, and a slaughter house. One of
the bunkhouses was located "some distance away" from the farm. 110
At the time of the 1920 census, Peter Stormer, Sr., was
living on a rented farm with his wife Helen, and their children
Joseph (20), Henry (17), Lewis (16), John (15), Harold (9) and
Benjamin (7). Peter's occupation was logging, and he was an em-
182
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
Figure 4.73. Peter Stormer farm, ca. mid-1910s. North Manitou's earliest farms were
large-scale agricultural enterprises that primarily supported wood-cutting crews.
During the mid-1800s these farms came and went on the island with the logging
ventures that they served. The Peter Stormer farm was a twentieth-century version of
such operations, supplying Stormer's various island logging camps with fresh meat,
grain, and hay.
ployer. Joseph was a life saver for the U. S. Coast Guard, and Henry
was a farm laborer who probably worked for his father. Peter
Stormer, Jr., age 27, also was living on North Manitou Island in a
separate household with his wife. He was a salaried laborer in a
lumber mill — certainly the one owned by his father since no other
mills were operating on North Manitou Island during this time. 111
The Stormer family left the island in 1923 after the
harvestable timber supply was depleted. 112 Peter Stormer, Jr., then
dismantled the sawmill and sold some of the mill machinery to the
Manitou Island Association. 113 Harold Stormer returned to the island
as a U.S. Coast Guard employee in 1927. 114 The Alstrom homestead,
however, has remained uninhabited since the departure of Peter
Stormer. The property eventually was incorporated into the land
holdings of William Angell and the Manitou Island Association. 115
The MIA utilized the large clearing at the site for hay production to
feed the island's deer herd. 116 Jean Lundquist recalled that by the
1940s and 1950s the only buildings at the site were the house and a
small barn. 117
111 U. S. Department of Commerce,
Bureau of Census, "Fourteenth [1920]
Census of the United States — Popula-
tion." The fact that Peter Stormer, Sr. is
listed as residing on a rented farm,
implies that he may not have purchased
the property from Armstrong as Fritz
("History Data Report," 86) suggests.
Perhaps Stormer leased the farm from
Armstrong or a different owner such as
Benjamin Newhall, and merely took
possession of the property sometime
around 1913.
112 Furst, My Point of View, 11.
113 Fritz, "History Data Report," 25.
114 Fritz, "History Data Report," 24.
115 Map showing parcel ownership on
North Manitou Island, n.d. (ca. 1925),
MIA Collection, Sleeping Bear Dunes
National Lakeshore, Empire, Mich. The
map does not indicate the owner of the
property.
116 Giles E. Merritt, untitled manuscript,
11 February 1986. Merrittwas hired by
the Manitou Island Syndicate in autumn
1925.
117 Lundquist, interview.
183
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 4.74. Peter Stormer farm
clearing, viewed from the edge of the
woods, 1996. The large clearing of the
Peter Stormer farm contrasts sharply
with the dense, shady maple-beech
woodland that surrounds it. The low,
open-community vegetation of the
clearing emphasizes the site's rolling
topography and dramatic landforms,
including a vale that follows the
southeastern edge of the clearing and
parallels an esker located several yards
into the woods. R elict agricultural clearings
such as this add to the diversity of
landscapes found on North Manitou Island,
and increase the variety of aesthetic
experiences available to visitors. The large
clearing atthis site also represents a type of
farming enterprise thatplayed an important
role in the history of agriculture on North
Manitou Island.
Location and Landscape Setting
The Alstrom homestead is located in the extreme southern end of the
island, approximately four miles south of the village, and approxi-
mately one mile southwest of the Bournique farm. Like many of the
former farms on North Manitou Island, the clearing at the Alstrom
homestead retains remarkable spatial integrity. A former farmstead is
located near the south-central portion of an oblong-shaped clearing
that is approximately one-half-mile long by nearly a quarter-mile wide
(figure 4.74). The clearing is situated atop a plateau that is bounded by
a large esker that extends across the southern end of the island in a
northeast/southwest alignment. The terrain is slightly undulating, but
drops off sharply at the southeastern edge of the clearing, forming a
valley near the base of the esker. Since it is unlikely that Lars Alstrom
ever cultivated much more than the modest acreage indicated in his
homestead application, this sizable clearing probably reflects the
extensive agricultural venture operated by Peter Stormer to support
his logging camps. The northern portion of the clearing extends
beyond the boundary of the claim filed by Alstrom, further suggest-
ing that its current size and shape more reflects Stormer's tenancy.
The farmstead structures have an upland site, overlooking the valley
and relict apple orchard below, and the densely-wooded esker (figure
4.75). A natural spring is located below the house, at the base of the
esker.
184
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
sugar maple
orchard
old fields
■.'■; -q
black cherry
lily of the valley
Q
wood debris
house (ruin)
willow
spring
paper birch
cellar entrance
log barn ruin
N .
sugar maple
North
Scale
(Approximate)
10' 25' 50'
Lars Christian Alstrom Homestead / Peter Stormer
Farmstead Site Plan
FIGURE 4.75
Drawing by Eric MacDonald and Katie Franks
185
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
118 This machine, manufactured by
Heebner & Sons, bears the
oxymoronic name "Little Giant."
119 According to the homestead
documentation, Alstrom's house "was
considerably smaller than the present
structure, "which measures roughly 22' x
32'.
Significant cultural landscape features associated with the
Alstrom homestead include a relict apple orchard northeast of, and
below, the house site. In the clearing above the orchard, several
yards east of the house, is a single, large sugar maple tree. The
house ruin is shaded by a massive willow tree growing next to the
south facade of the structure. The north entrance to the house is
flanked by two large boulders and an expansive, monotypic patch of
lily-of-the-valley A portion of the spring located in the valley
directly east of the house appears to have been formerly lined with
logs. Located several yards south of the house, in a clump of trees
and raspberries, are the remains of a log barn. Some of the intact
logs are thirteen inches in diameter. It is now merely a pile of
wooden debris; however, the footprint of the structure is still
discernible. Amidst the barn ruins is an unidentified piece of farm
machinery 118 The large size of the logs and the severely deteriorated
condition of the structure suggest that this structure may predate
the Stormer lumber camp era.
Buildings and Structures
A roofless log house and a collapsed barn are the sole remnants of
farm structures at the farmstead (figures 4.76 and 4.77). The roof
and floor of the house have collapsed inward, leaving only the four
side walls of the structure standing. The shingle-clad log walls of
the house rest on a dry-laid, fieldstone foundation that is three-and-
a-half feet thick. The cellar is built into the hillside, exposing the
entire eastern wall of the foundation. There is an entrance to the
cellar in the eastern foundation wall, and a curious brick-lined
compartment in the northern foundation wall just below the sill
level. Entrances to the main floor of the house face north and
south. The walls of the house display sawed, squared logs clad with
wood shingles. The logs are joined by an unusual and exquisitely
detailed square notching system. A triangular section cut from the
top and bottom horizontal surfaces of each notch eliminated the
need for pegging and made the corners self-binding (figure 4.78).
The design of this notching system, as well as the precision with
which it was executed, produced an incredibly stable joint. The
notching system is not a typical of Nordic log construction tech-
nique, suggesting that the present building is not the original home-
stead house built by Lars Christian Alstrom in 1885. That structure
reportedly was smaller than the present house ruin, and it seems
unlikely that large, circular-sawn timbers would have been locally
available to Alstrom during the mid-1 880s. 119 If any of the relict
cultural features at the site are associated with Alstrom, the most
likely candidate may be the adjacent log barn ruin. The present
house structure may have been built by lumbermen associated with
Peter Stormer's logging camps during the early 1900s. Regardless of
its provenance, the fact that the log walls of this house remain
intact, after more than seventy years of abandonment and neglect, is
a testament to the skill of the builders.
186
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
log walls
willow
paper birch
cellar entrance
fieldstone foundation wall
North
Scale
(Approximate)
0' 2' 5' 10'
Lars Christian Alstrom / Peter Stormer House Ruin
Sketch Plan
FIGURE 4.76
Drawing by Eric MacDonald and Katie Franks
187
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
m
M^&
ngMfitw '■"
Mis,™ ■
m
-
%
*ir. t j
Figure 4.77. Lars Christian Alstrom / Peter Stormer house ruin, 1996. The ruin is
perched along the brow of an upland plain, with one of the basement walls integrated
into the slope. Ornamental vegetation includes an extensive patch of I i ly-of-th e-va I ley
and a towering willow tree.
Figure 4.78. Corner notching detail, Lars
Christian Alstrom /Peter Stormer house
ruin, 1996. Although the PeterStormer
family abandoned the house more than
seventy years ago, all four of its side walls
remain standing and remarkably intact.
Such longevity attests to the durability of the
solid corner-joints and exquisite
craftsmanship that are evident in the wall
construction.
188
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
Contributing Landscape Features
barn (ruin) spring
willow tree apple trees
lily-of-the-valley sugar maple tree
boulders
Contributing Structures
House (ruin)
Structure Number: 53122895
Dimensions: 32'-5" x 22'-3"
Foundation: stone
Walls: log with wood shingles
Roof: none
Privy 120
Structure Number:
Dimensions: 4'-0" x 4'-8"
Walls: wood board-and-batten
Roof: gable
Nelson and Sophia Carlson Homestead / Carlson
Place
SEV 4 Section 9, T31N R14W / NE% Section 4, T31N R14W
History and Agricultural Data
Nelson Carlson (b. 1857?) and his wife Sophia (b. 1857) emigrated
from Sweden in 1876. 121 By 1880, the Carlsons were living on North
Manitou Island. The couple lived with their son William, age 2, and
daughter Amanda Pauline, an infant. Nelson Carlson listed his
occupation as fisherman. 122 According to the land tract records for
North Manitou Island, Carlson homesteaded 160 acres of land in
the SE74 of Section 9, T31N, R14W Carlson's application was
made on 14 March 1896, his proof was made on 9 July 1903, and
the patent received on 20 March 1905. 123 No additional information
is available regarding this homestead claim. The clearing currently
associated with the "Carlson Place" is located in the eastern portion
of Section 4, approximately one mile north of the Carlson's home-
stead claim (figure 4.80). There are no known buildings or cultural
landscape features associated with the Carlsons at their homestead
property in Section 9.
120 List of Classified Structures, field
notes. The authors did not observe a
privy at the site. Perhaps the field notes
refer to a small ruin that currently exists
north of the house.
121 U. S. Census Office, "Tenth [1880]
Census of the United States — Popula-
tion;" U.S. Department of Commerce,
Bureau of Census, "Thirteenth [1910]
Census of the United States — Popula-
tion." The enumerator of the 1880
federal census spelled the surname
"Charlson," indicated that Nelson had
been born in 1854, and that his "wife's
name "was Johanna.
122 U S. Census Office, "Tenth [1880]
Census of the United States — Popula-
tion."
123 U.S. Land Office, "Tract Books," vol.
45 (Leelanau County), State Archives of
Michigan, Lansing. For a transcription,
see Fritz, "Appendix A: First Purchasers
of Land on North Manitou Island" in
"History Data Report," 52-66.
189
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 4.79. Nels and Sophia Carlson
farm house on North Manitou Island, ca.
1900.
124 Marie Averill, "Fisherman Finds
Contentment in Retirement from the
Lake," Leelanau Enterprise-Tribune [?], 26
November 1970.
125 Rusco, North Manitou Island, 54.
12b U.S. Department of Commerce,
Bureau of Census, "Thirteenth [1910]
Census of the United States — Popula-
tion."
127 Averill, "Fisherman Finds Content-
ment;" Rusco, North Manitou Island, 55.
128 Fritz, "History Data Report," 86.
Rusco suggests that Nels Carlson engaged in a free-range
cattle venture with Silas Boardman. However, this endeavor eventu-
ally proved to be unprofitable. The Carlsons primarily were subsis-
tence farmers who raised pigs, sheep, cattle, horses, and crops to
feed their family and livestock. Nels Carlson worked in lumber
camps, fished, and farmed, while Mrs. Carlson sewed, carded and
spun yarn, helped in the fields, and canned about a thousand jars of
fruits and vegetables each year. The family employed three hired
men in 1900. 124 Active members of the North Manitou community,
the Carlsons built the island school in 1895. Nels Carlson was
named director of the school, and also served as a volunteer in the
U.S. Life Saving Service. 125
The Carlson family included twelve children, ten of whom
were living on the island at the time of the 1910 census: William (b.
1878), Oscar (b. 1883), Hilda (b. 1885), Jered (b. 1887), Alfred (b.
1889), Millie (b. 1891), Adam (b. 1893), Esther (b. 1896), Irving (b.
1898), and a baby born in May 1900. William was employed as a
farm laborer. The Carlsons held free title to their farm. 126 Ed
Carlson, the ninth child, was born on North Manitou Island in 1894.
In 1903, the Carlsons sold their farm to Benjamin Newhall,
and moved to Leland. During March of that year, three teams of
horses pulled sleds loaded with the family's possessions across the
frozen Manitou Passage. The Carlsons then settled on a 217-acre
farm next to the cemetery in Leland. On their mainland farm, the
Carlsons raised potatoes and general crops, which they transported
to market in Lake Leelanau or Suttons Bay. Later, their son, Ed,
became a successful commercial fisherman. 127 A handwritten note
on a historic photograph in the Betty Kramer Collection of the
Leelanau Historical Museum indicates that the Carlson farmstead
was occupied by one of Peter Stormer's lumber camps during 1908.
Fritz states that that when Stormer moved his family to the island in
1913, they initially settled at the Carlson place. 128
190
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
Figure 4.80. Nels and Sophia Carlson
farm clearing, 1996. The clearing
appears to retain a remarkable degree
of spatial integrity, which no doubt is due
to the herbivory of the island's non-
native white tailed deer population.
By the mid-1920s, Roger Sherman and George McConnell
owned all of Section 4, with the exception of a twenty-acre parcel
owned by Alvar Bournique. This holding included a portion of the
Carlson clearing in Section 4. The Manitou Island Association later
utilized the Carlson place and the two adjoining clearings as hay
fields. 129 Giles Merritt recalled that the Carlson place was abandoned
during the 1920s. Thereafter the Manitou Island Association used
the Carlson barn to store corn and hay. Merritt also remembered
fruit trees at the farm, although these were neglected by the associa-
tion. 130
Location and Landscape Setting
A series of three connected, irregularly-shaped clearings is located
in the east-central portion of North Manitou Island. The eastern-
most clearing is the "Carlson place;" at least one of the other two
openings may have been the former Henry Stormer farm. It is also
possible that one or all three of the clearings date from Nicholas
Pickard's tenure on the island, since he purchased all of the north-
east quarter of Section 4 in 1857, and his partner Joseph Stringham
purchased the northeast quarter of the southeast quarter that same
year. The remainder of the section was purchased by Albert W
Bacon in 1862. 131
All of the clearings retain exceptional spatial integrity, with
distinct edges and relatively little invasive woody vegetation in the
interior (figure 4.80). The terrain is gently rolling. The only remain-
ing structural feature of the Carlson place, an ice house ruin, is
situated at the base of a small hill in the southeastern corner of the
easternmost clearing (figure 4.81). According to Fritz, this structure
was built around 1900. After the Carlsons' departure it was utilized
as an ice house by the Manitou Island Syndicate and the Manitou
Island Association. 132 The structure was still standing when Shunichi
Hagiwara surveyed the site in 1979. 133 A considerable distance
i29 Giles E. Merritt, untitled manuscript,
11 February 1986. Merrittwas hired by
the Manitou Island Syndicate in autumn
1925.
130 Fritz, "History Data Report," 28.
131 U.S. Land Office, "Tract Books."
132 Fritz, "History Data Report," 82.
133 Shunichi Hagiwara, "Building-
Structure Inventory."
191
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 4.81. Nels and Sophia Carlson
shed ruin, 1996. This dilapidated
structure may have been used last by
the Manitou Island Association to store
ice, which the association annually
harvested from Lake Manitou.
upland, near the edge of the clearing, is an intact fencerow consist-
ing of large sugar maple trees.
Contributing Landscape Features
ice house(ruin) sugar maple fencerow
U.S. Department of Commerce,
Bureau of Census, "Thirteenth [1910]
Census of the United States — Popula-
tion."
Farms with Cultural
Landscape Remnants
John (and Anna) Maleski Homestead
SW %, SE 'A, Section 21, T32N, R15W
History and Agricultural Data
John Maleski (b. 1886) was the youngest son born to Adam and
Alary Maleski. At the time of the 1910 federal census, he was
working as a fisherman, and living on the Maleski farm with his
parents and his brother Paul. 134 During this time he may have been
using the fishing shanties originally constructed by his father on the
northeastern shore of the island. In May 1912, John filed a home-
stead application for SWVi SEVi and Lot 1 of Section 21, T32N,
R14W The 96.30-acre parcel was perched high on a bluff overlook-
ing the coastal site of the Maleski fishing shanties, and the Manitou
Passage to the east. When John Maleski filed his application, he was
unmarried.
192
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
Maleski began building a house on the property during March
1913, and took up residence there on 10 June of that year. At that
time he had ten acres of cleared land in the SW% SE% of Section 21.
Five years later, when he filed his proof, he and his wife, and their
three children, were living on the property in a one-and-a-half-story,
three-room frame house. The homestead proof noted that the
Maleskis had more than 82 acres of timber land, and fourteen acres of
cleared land that were enclosed by a wire fence; they were, however,
cultivating only three acres of their farmland. The property also
included a frame barn measuring 20' x 30' on Lot No. 1, as well as a
hen house and possibly a hog house. Witnesses to John Maleski's 1918
testimony were Herman Prause and Paul Maleski, of North Manitou
Island, and Harold E. Voice and John L. Paetschow of Leland. The
final patent for the homestead was awarded on 24 June 1919. 135
According to the manuscript schedules for the 1920 federal
census, John and Anna Maleski's household included four children:
Gertrude (age 5), Raymond (age 3), Ellis (age 23 mos.), and John
(age 3 mos.). The Maleskis resided on a farm, which they owned;
John Maleski was listed as a farm laborer, working on his own
account. 136 John also probably continued to fish during this time. A
few years later, however, he was employed as the orchard manager
for the Manitou Island Association. According to his nephew, Paul
Maleski, Jr., John Maleski received training in orchard management
from Michigan Agricultural College in East Lansing 137 A news item
in the 25 March 1926 issue of the Leelanau Enterprise reported that
"Paul Maleski of North Manitou is in town waiting for a chance to
cross. He is employed by the island Syndicate in their orchards and
spent the winter studying at the Michigan State College." The paper
probably confused Paul Maleski with his brother John, since accord-
ing to the AHA accounts journal, John Maleski received $83.08 in
March 1926 for "Feb. pay while at school," and also incurred travel-
ing expenses during that month. 138 The MIA also paid Ann Maleski
$15.50 in 1927 for "farmhouse washing" 139
Unlike his brother Paul, John Maleski seems to have engaged
only in subsistence agriculture at his homestead. His primary source
of income was employment with the Manitou Island Association,
which he supplemented by fishing. He and his family left North
Manitou Island in 1928 or 1929, and their island homestead subse-
quently was purchased by the Manitou Island Association. 140 Ac-
cording to Paul Maleski, Jr., the MIA utilized the John and Ann
Maleski residence as an ice house. 141
Location and Landscape Setting
The John Maleski homestead site is located approximately two miles
north of North Manitou Village. All that remains of the site is a
small clearing located near the edge of the bluff, which drops off
sharply toward the shore of Lake Michigan. The Maleski family's
fish shanties were located below the bluff, along the shore. From the
Homestead Application Serial
Number 02852; Receipt No. 640995/
2186167; Final Patent No. 690135,
National Archives and Records Admin-
istration, Washington, D.C.; U.S. Land
Office, "Tract Books." The Leelanau
County tract book lists the date of
application as 10 May 1912. The name is
spelled "Maleske" on the homestead
application.
136 U.S. Department of Commerce,
Bureau of Census, "Fourteenth [1920]
Census of the United States — Popula-
tion."
1 ' 7 Paul Maleski, Jr., interview "with the
authors, 26 July 1997.
138 Manitou Island Association
Accounts Journal.
139 Ibid.
140 Some of the sources conflict "with
regard to dates. According to Rusco
{North Manitou Island, 19, 71-72), the
family sold their North Manitou
property in 1928, and moved to the
mainland in 1929; However, Fritz
("History Data report," 71) states that
the MIA acquired the properly some-
time around 1 940.
141 Paul Maleski, Jr., interview with the
authors, 26 July 1997.
193
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 4.82. J ohn and Anna Maleski
homestead site, 1996. Because itoffers
spectacularviews of South Fox Island and
the Manitou Passage, the small clearing of
the formerj ohn and Anna Maleski
homestead is a popularcamp site forNorth
Manitou visitors. The aesthetic quality of the
clearing, and the presence of several non-
native plants, identifies the site as an
anthropogenic landscape.
edge of the bluff, which is lined with paper birch and hemlock trees,
one can glimpse spectacular views of the Michigan mainland and, in
the distance toward the north, South Fox Island. The clearing is a
popular camping site.
Completely surrounded by forest, the clearing is less than ten
acres in extent. It is occupied by a scattering of four apple trees,
three sugar maples, and one black cherry tree (figure 4.82). There is
a patch of Kentucky bluegrass (Poa sp.) near one of the apple trees,
and large colonies of black and red raspberries. Black raspberries
appear to be especially invasive in the northwestern corner of the
clearing, where there also is a group of black locust trees along the
edge of the forest. Nearby is an apple tree and two sugar maple
trees. The clearing is being invaded by a few woody species, includ-
ing striped maple (Acer pensylmnicum), sugar maple, and black cherry.
Fritz reported that the John Maleski house was standing in
autumn 1985, although it was then "in an advanced state of decom-
position." Fritz also stated, curiously, that "several of the John
Maleski outbuildings have fallen nearly flat from decrepitude."
Fritz's description of the John Maleski property is puzzling because,
according to Maleski's nephew, there were no other outbuildings at
the site. 142 Fritz may have confused this location with the farm of
Adam Maleski, which is located less than one mile inland from the
John Maleski homestead site.
Contributing Landscape Features
Sugar maple trees Apple trees
Black locust trees Kentucky bluegrass
142 Fritz, "History Data Report," 72;
Paul Alaleski, Jr., iiiterviewwith the
authors, 26 July 1997.
194
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
Frederic Beuham / Stark Bros. Orchard
N y 2 , NE A, & S l A, NW l A, Section 33, T-32N R-15W
History and Agricultural Data
Frederic M. Beuham introduced large-scale commercial fruit farm-
ing to North Manitou Island during the 1880s. An unmarried,
native-born citizen, Beuham moved from Olivet, Michigan, to
North Manitou Island in 1881. He homesteaded 160 acres of land
in the N'/ 2 NWA, SE% NWA and the NE'A SWA of Section 33,
T31N, R14W Information on Beuham's homestead application
suggests that he was a war veteran, and that he had a physical
disability stemming from his military service. Beuham testified that
he spent summers on the island improving his claim, and winters on
the mainland, boarding with his brother at either Petoskey or Olivet,
Michigan. In Petoskey, Beuham sold fruit trees during the winter
months. He was absent from the island from December until May,
"the homestead being on an island and, and [sic] not fit for resi-
dence, winter's for invalid soldier." 143
In May 1890, Beuham testified that his claim was mostly
second-growth maple forest that had been "cut off by N Pickard so
the reports, about 15 or 20 years ago." He stated that the property
was "ordinary agricultural land" that was most valuable for fruit
raising. In 1881, with the assistance of a person named "Clark," he
built a house measuring 18' x 18,' with one window and one door. He
cleared one acre of land that year, and set out fruit trees the following
spring. He later built a second house that measured 14' x 24,' one-and-
a-half stories high, with two doors and five windows. As of 1890,
Beuham had cleared twelve acres of land. During each of the previ-
ous four seasons he had produced 300 bushels of potatoes and three
tons of hay on ten acres of farmland. In addition, Beuham had 500
fruit trees and vines growing on his homestead. His houses were
furnished with the "usual Bachelor's outfit," and he owned two horses,
two plows, one wagon, hoes, axes, and other farm equipment. He also
had purchased three heifers, which were being boarded at Bay Springs,
Alichigan. Beuham's witnesses were North Manitou residents John
Peterson, a fisherman, and Aron Swenson, a fisherman and farmer. 144
Frederic Beuham later acquired additional acreage in sections
29, 32, and 33, perhaps to expand his fruit operation. 145 On 10 May
1894, however, Beuham transferred his land to the well-known fruit
nursery, Stark Bros. Nursery & Orchard Co. of Louisiana, Missouri,
for $120 dollars. This transaction involved 922.9 acres of land in the
following areas of T32N, R14W: the WA of Section 28; the NV2 of
the SE7 4 , the NA of the SWA ,and lots 1 and 2 in Section 29; the
EA of the NE'A and lots 1, 2, 3 and 5 in Section 32; the SWA of the
NWA of Section 33; and the NWA of the SWA in Section 33. 146
Seven days later, Beuham, who listed his address as Wheaton, Illinois,
entered into a legal agreement with Stark Bros. The nursery firm
143 Homestead Application No. 8188,
National Archives and Records Admin-
istration, Washington, D. C. Beuham's
application "was made on 4 June 1881,
the final proof "was made on 6 June
1 890, and his claim "was patented on 4
February 1891.
144 Ibid.
145 Fritz, "History Data Report," 10.
146 Leelanau Deeds, Liber 24, 38.
195
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
147 Leelanau Deeds, Liber 23, 168-169.
The agreement "was received for record
on 18 August 1894.
14S Denice Lucas, Stark Bros. Nursery
Co., telephone interview by Eric
MacDonald, 23 February 1998.
149 Leelanau Deeds, Liber 24, 318.
150 Fritz, "History Data Report," 28.
agreed to ship, by railroad and lake steamer, a total of 1,500 pear and
2,500 apple trees to Beuham on North Manitou. The shipments were
to be made sometime during the fall of 1894 or spring of 1895. In
addition, Stark Bros, were to carefully plant and care for the trees on
the 645-acre farm, which consisted of the following parcels in T32N
R14W: lots 1 and 5, and the EV 2 of the NE'A of Section 32; the SWA
of the NW% and the NW% of the SWA of Section 33; the SEA of
the SEV4 of Section 29; lots 1 and 2 of Section 29, and the WV2 of
Section 28. Beuham, along with S. R. Boardman of North Manitou
Island, and "Mann Bros." of Two Rivers, Wisconsin, agreed not to
dispose of the farm without first obtaining the written consent of
Stark Bros. Beuham agreed to deliver to Stark Bros, any three pear or
two apple crops yielded by the trees, to be selected by Stark Bros.,
within a period of 15 years after planting the trees. Beuham also
agreed that he would send Stark Bros, a written assessment of the
condition of the crop 30 days before the harvest. 147 The arrangement
between Stark Bros. Nursery Co. and Beuham apparently was not
unusual during the late nineteenth century. According to Denice
Lucas, a current spokesperson for the Stark Bros, firm, "it was com-
mon practice during that time for the company to sell trees to a
commercial orchardist, and accept the orchardist's land as a binder,
with the land used as collateral until the trees were paid off." The
company, however, no longer has any records dating from the
1890s. 148
Beuham apparently defaulted on his agreement with Stark
Bros., for on 31 January 1899 the company sold the North Manitou
Island fruit farm and other land comprising 922.91 acres to Franklin
and Benjamin Newhall of Chicago for $1,100. The sale included the
NV2 of the SE'A and the NV2 of the SWA and lots 1 and 2 of
Section 29 (243 acres); the SW% of the NW% and the NW% of the
SWY4 of Section 33 (80 acres); Lot 2 of Section 29 and lots 2 and 3
of Section 32 (116.1 acres); the E'A of the NE'A and lots 1 and 5
of Section 32 (163.81 acres); the WVz of Section 28 (320 acres),
T32N, R14W. 149 Perhaps Beuham's financial difficulties were tied to
those of his business partner, Silas Boardman, who also was forced
to sell his island property to the Newhalls at approximately the same
time. The Newhalls, who were Chicago-based wholesale fruit
dealers, continued to operate the North Manitou orchards until
ownership and management of the property was assumed by the
Manitou Island Syndicate during the early 1920s. William Stark may
have maintained an interest in the orchard through a personal
connection with the Newhalls (figure 4.83). The Stark family
purchased one of the Cottage Row houses and vacationed on the
island during the Newhall era.
Giles Merritt recalled that two varieties of apples, wealthy'
and 'spy,' grew in the huge orchard, which was known as the "Frank
Farm." Apples of both varieties ripened later than the apples
growing near the village. 150 Vera Crites Goos, who lived on the island
196
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
Figure 4.83. Nationally prominent
nurserymen J . H. Hale and William
Stark pose in the North Manitou Island
apple orchard formerly owned by
Frederic Beuham, ca. 1900. Most of the
orchard's fruit trees were planted by
Stark Bros. Nursery & Orchard Co.
during the 1890s. For several summers
during the early twentieth century,
William Stark and his family vacationed
in one of the Cottage Row summer
houses.
during the 1930s, recalled that the apples grown on North Manitou
Island were special, the result of experimental grafting. Her daughter,
Lorriane, recalled:
. . . we'd walk out in these beautiful orchards and we'd see
three or four kinds of apples growing on one tree —
yellow apples on one side, green on another and red on
another. That was part of the attraction of North
Manitou. And sometimes, if I'm not mistaken, when
anybody had company . . . we'd walk out into these
beautiful orchards to show them trees that had several
kinds of apples growing on one tree. 151
The MIA may have continued commercial harvesting apples from
the orchard into the 1930s. By the late 1930s, however, the annual
apple crop was left in place for the MIA deer herd. 152
Location and Landscape Setting
The Frederic M. Beuham fruit farm, popularly known as the "Frank
Farm," is located in the northeastern portion of the island, about
one-half-mile west of North Manitou village. 153 The orchard is
reached via a road that leads from the historic village dock location
to Lake Manitou. The road crosses a small meadow-like clearing
that extends northward into the much larger orchard clearing (figure
4.84). A few large trees are scattered throughout this smaller clear-
ing, which is otherwise open, suggesting that it once may have been
a pasture, or the location of Beuham's homestead. A small grove of
American chestnut (Castenea dentatd) trees is located a short distance
west of the trail that leads southward from this area of the Beuham
clearing. The nine chestnut trees, some of which have multiple
trunks, are situated in the woods, and are surrounded by overstory
trees of big-tooth aspen (Populus gran di dentatd), sugar maple, black
151 Vera Crites Goos, interview "with
Betty L. Mann, 15 and 18 June 1993,
audio tape filed at Leelanau Historical
Aluseum, Leland, Mich.
152 Lundquist, interview.
153 How the name "Frank" became
attached to the orchard is not known.
Perhaps the name refers to Franklin
Newhall.
197
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
road to
Lake Manitou
road to *■
North Manitou Village
dock
Scale
North
200' 400'
100' 300'
Manitou Island Association
(Frederic Beuham / Stark Bros.) Orchard
Spatial Organization, 1938
FIGURE 4.84
Drawing by Eric MacDonald and Katie Franks
198
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
cherry, beech, and ironwood {Ostrya nrginiand). American chestnut
trees are not native to this portion of North America, and probably
were planted by Beuham. 154
Approximately 180 acres in extent, the Beuham orchard is
the largest clearing on the island, rivaled only by the Crescent
townsite, North Manitou Village and its adjacent orchards, and the
Bournique/cemetery area (figure 4.85). The clearing is irregularly
shaped. The terrain is gently undulating in the northern, upland
portion, and relatively flat in the southern portion (figure 4.86).
Within the clearing are several large patches of sandy, eroded soil,
now mostly vegetated with drought-tolerant grasses and lichens.
Land patterns discernible in aerial photographs dating from 1938 to
the early 1970s suggest that the vast clearing historically was
divided into several smaller areas devoted to fruit trees and other
crops. Approximately 60 per cent of the clearing was devoted to
orchards in the 1938 photograph, and the land patterns suggest that
as much as 75 per cent previously had been used for this purpose. A
large section of orchard in the low, southern part of the clearing
appears to have been removed sometime after 1938. 155 The remain-
ing orchards seem to be divided into three sections that were sepa-
rated by areas of open land in the north-central and extreme north-
eastern portions of the clearing.
Using the 1938 aerial photograph as a baseline, the Beuham
orchard appears to retain remarkable spatial integrity. The size and
shape of the clearing have changed little during the past sixty years,
and the forest/clearing edge remains distinct. There are, perhaps,
700-1,000 living fruit trees in the orchards. Most of the relict
specimens appear to be apple trees, many of which remain robust
and healthy-looking (figure 4.87). The particular varieties repre-
sented in the orchard have not been identified. Most of the trees
probably date from the Stark Bros, plantation, although others may
have been added by the Newhalls, or by the Manitou Island Syndicate.
Figure 4.85. Aerial view of the Frederic
Beuham orchard (Lake Manitou in the
distance), looking westward, winter 1994.
The Beuham orchard is one of the largest
agricultural clearings on North Manitou
Island.
154 Brian T. Hazlett and Robert J.
Vande Kopple, The Terrestrial Vegetation
and Flora of North and South Manitou
Islands, Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore, Leelanau County, Michigan
(Douglas Lake, Mich.: University of
Michigan Biological Station, 1983), 57-
58.
155 U.S. Department of Agriculture,
aerial photographs, 1 938, Sleeping Bear
Dunes National Lakeshore, Empire,
Mich.
199
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 4.86. Frederic Beuham orchard,
1996. The orchard is one of the most
visually dramatic cultural landscapes of
North Manitou Island. The aesthetic
experience of this vastclearing, which is
punctuated by regularly-spaced rows of
several hundred fruit trees, is
heightened by the dense forest that
encloses the space.
Figure 4.87. Frederic Beuham orchard, 1996. Many of the fruit trees growing in the
northeastern quadrant of the Beuham orchard are large, robust specimens.
Unfortunately, the orchard has not been inventoried to determine whether any
important historic apple varieties exist at the site. The character-defining features of
this orchard-its immense size, monotypic plantings, and highly regimented planting
pattern- identify it as a landscape of commercial, or paleotechnic, agriculture.
200
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
Figure 4.88. National Park Service radio
tower, Frederic Beuham orchard, 1996.
Although the Beuham orchard is located within
a "potential wildemess"area, the NPS
recently constructed a modern radio tower
amidst the rows of historic apple trees
located in the northeastern corner of the
clearing.
Including the southern orchard, which was intentionally removed
after 1938, as many as 2,500 trees may have been planted in the
clearing. The remaining orchards consisted of approximately 1,800
trees. The edges of the clearing appear to have changed very little
since the late 1930s. 156
There are no visible, historic building or structural remains
on the property. Beuham's houses may have been removed by
subsequent owners, since neither Stark Bros, nor the Newhalls
resided on the holding. Beuham himself may have regarded these
buildings as temporary shelters, since both of his homestead appli-
cation witnesses testified that the houses were not habitable during
all seasons. 15 ' Former North Manitou residents also report that a
barn once stood somewhere on the property. 158 A portion of this
structure may be depicted in an historic photograph featuring apple
pickers on North Manitou Island sometime between 1910-1920 (see
figure 3.5). The barn may have been built by the Newhalls, and later
utilized by the Manitou Island Syndicate and the Manitou Island
Association until fruit harvesting on the property ceased sometime
during the late 1930s or early 1940s. In the northeastern corner of
the site, surrounded by large apple trees, is a small white metal and
wood radio tower (figure 4.88). This structure was erected by the
National Park Service in the 1980s. Although it is not large, the
tower detracts from the overall aesthetic quality of the site.
Contributing Landscape Features
clearing dead apple trees and stumps
apple trees roadway
American chestnut trees
Non-Contributing Landscape Features
radio tower
photographs from a 1976 timber survey
completed for the Manitou Island
Association, original photographs on
file in the Angell Foundation Collection,
Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore, Empire, Mich.
157 Homestead Application No. 8188,
National Archives and Records Admin-
istration, Washington, D C.
158 Rita Hadra Rusco, interview by Eric
MacDonald, 25 July 1 997, notes filed at
Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore, Empire, Mich.
201
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 4.89. Hendrick Frederickson
house and wharf on the southwestern
shore of North Manitou Island, 1897.
159 U.S. Census Office, "Twelfth [1900]
Census of the United States —
Population;" Fritz, "History data
Report," 87.
160 Rusco, North Manitou Island, 78
161 U.S. Census Office, "Twelfth [1900]
Census of the United States — Popula-
tion;" U.S. Department of Commerce,
Bureau of Census, "Thirteenth [1910]
Census of the United States — Popula-
tion." James P. Walle to Eric
MacDonald, 16 July 1997, Department
of Landscape Architecture, University
sf Wis
-Madis
Lundquist, interview.
Hendrick Frederickson Farmstead
SW l A, NE %, Section 20, T31N R15W
History and Agricultural Data
Hendrick Frederickson (b. 1841) emigrated from Denmark in 1870.
In 1883, he purchased 68 acres near the southeastern end of North
Manitou Island, in Section 22 of T31N, R14W He later acquired
additional land on the southwestern shore of the island in Section
20 (figure 4.89). 159 Frederickson probably engaged in fishing and
limited, subsistence farming on this land. According to Rusco, the
Fredericksons were related to another North Manitou Island family,
the Paetschows. Hendrick Frederickson was a farmer and fisherman
who owned his own boat. He later built a wharf with two fish
houses, and employed woodchoppers. 160 Frederickson may not have
been living on this property in 1900, since the federal census of that
year lists him as a fisherman who was living in a rented house.
Although he had been married twenty years, his wife was not
residing with him on North Manitou Island. Frederickson may have
moved to Bailey's Harbor, Wisconsin, shortly after the turn of the
century 161 Jean Lundquist recalled that the Frederickson place was
the favorite picnic spot of North Manitou's summer residents during
the late 1930s through the 1950s. 162
202
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
* W
Location and Landscape Setting
The remains of the Frederickson place consist of a small, oblong-
shaped clearing located on the southwestern shore of the island.
The site is reached via a trail that extends northward to the Crescent
townsite and eastward toward the Bournique place and the eastern
shore road. The land rises dramatically to the east of the clearing,
which is bordered by a densely forested hillside. The clearing offers
spectacular views of Lake Michigan, South Manitou Island, and the
Sleeping Bear Dunes. Among campers and backpackers, the
Frederickson Place is a favorite spot for watching the setting sun on
a summer evening.
No surface evidence of buildings or structures remain at the
Frederickson place. Rusco reports that the house was built near the
edge of the dune, and eventually toppled into Lake Michigan. 163 The
primary cultural feature of the Frederickson place is the clearing
itself, the boundaries of which remain relatively distinct, although
woody vegetation is advancing along the edges of the space. A
cluster of seven apple and pear trees located along the northern
edge of the clearing may mark the vicinity of the house site. There
also are large, open-grown sugar maple trees nearby, and wild grape
vines growing along the edge of the bluff, (figure 4.90).
Contributing Landscape Features
clearing pear trees
apple trees sugar maple trees
Figure 4.90. Cultural vegetation at the
Hendrick Frederickson place, 1996.
Rusco, North Manitou Island, 78.
203
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
164 Rusco, North Manitou Island, 61, 105.
165 Leelanau Enterprise, 25 July 1901.
166 Rusco, North Manitou Island, 61, 105.
Peter Swanson also "worked as a mail
carrier, transporting mail the island.
167 Fritz, "History Data Report," 17.
163 Rusco, North Manitou Island, 53.
John Swenson / Cunningham Home Site
SE 'A, SW %, Section 3, T31N R14W
History and Agricultural Data
John Swenson and his brother, Peter Swanson, initially settled on
the western side of North Manitou Island during the 1880s. John
later moved to the eastern side of the island, where he and his wife,
Johanna, settled at a site is located along the eastern shore road
approximately one mile south of North Manitou Village. 164 John
Swenson owned his own boat, which he used for fishing, and for
transporting freight between the island and Leland. In 1901,
Swenson took the contract to carry mail between Leland and North
Manitou Island. 165 The Swensons' daughter, Augusta, worked in the
village hotel. In 1905 she married Fred Samuelson, keeper of the
North Manitou light from 1898 through 1909. 166 Clara, another
daughter of John and Johanna Swenson, died 18 May 1905; she was
buried in the island cemetery. Johanna Swenson died on 26 March
1911; she may be buried somewhere on the western side of the
island. 167
The Swenson home site later was occupied by Melvin and
Ellen Cunningham, who lived on the island from about 1906 until
1915. They had twelve children, two of whom died in infancy. Their
daughter, Martha, polished silverware for Miss Katie Shepard's
tearoom at Cottage Row. Melvin Cunningham was Peter Stormer's
blacksmith. In addition, the Cunninghams took in boarders and
serviced the logging operation. They raised milk cows, pigs, and
chickens, and tended a large vegetable garden. 168
Location and Landscape Setting
The Swenson/Cunningham Place is located along the eastern shore
road, approximately one mile south of North Manitou Village and
one-half-mile south of the island school. It now consists of only a
small clearing in the woods, offering views of the Manitou Passage
and the Michigan mainland to the east. West of the Swenson/
Cunningham place is the former Manitou Island Association's
"South Cherry Orchard," now also only a clearing that is being
invaded by small, woody vegetation.
Contributing Landscape Feature
clearing
John L. and (Wanda?) Johnson Farmstead
NE y 4 , SW 'A, & SE 'A, NW l A, Section 18, T-31N R-15W
History and Agricultural Data
Little historical information exists about the John L. Johnson family.
The Johnsons, who appear in the 1910 federal population census of
North Manitou Island, are listed as John, age 63, and his wife
204
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
(Wanda?), age 67; both had emigrated from Sweden, and had become
naturalized U. S. citizens in 1887. They had three living children,
although none were living with them in their North Manitou Island
household. Along with Adam Maleski, John Johnson was one of only
two North Manitou farmers identified in the 1910 census. 169 Accord-
ing to Rusco, the Johnsons owned a boat and a dock. 170 An historic
photograph of the Johnson house depicts a simple one-and-a-half-
story, side-gable dwelling with wooden shingle cladding (figure 4.91).
The farmstead was abandoned by the time Giles Merritt lived on
North Manitou during the late 1920s. 171
Location and Landscape Setting
The former John and (Wanda?) Johnson farm is located on the
southwestern shore of North Manitou Island, approximately two
miles south of the townsite of Crescent, and three-quarters of a
mile north of the Hendrick Frederickson place. Like the
Frederickson property, the former Johnson farm now consists of
only an oblong-shaped clearing positioned atop the bluff overlook-
ing Lake Michigan. No visible evidence of buildings or structures
remains at the site, and there is no relict cultural vegetation. 172
Contributing Landscape Feature
clearing
"Fat Annie's" Place
NE 'A, NW Va, Section 21, T-31N R-15W
History and Agricultural Data
The identity of "Fat Annie" is a mystery, although Rusco suggests
that she may have cooked and laundered for one of the island
logging camps. According to island lore, Annie's son worked for
Silas Boardman during the early 1890s. 173 Another legend claims that
Figure 4.91. J ohn L. J ohnson farm
house.
169 U.S. Department of Commerce,
Bureau of Census, "Thirteenth [1910]
Census of the United States — Popula-
tion;" Fritz, "History Data Report," 16.
' ,!J Rusco, North Manitou Island, 78.
171 Fritz, "History Data Report," 28.
' 2 Rusco (North NLanitou Island, 78) that
the remains of the house foundation
and lilacs exist at the site. These features
"were not apparent in 1997.
l7j Rusco, North Manitou Island, 79.
205
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 4.92. "Fat Annie's" place, 1996.
This small, circular clearing, which is
occupied by only three trees, represents
the modest scale that characterized
subsistence agriculture on North
Manitou Island. Most of North Manitou's
immigrant farmers, many of whom
settled homesteads near the southern
end of the island during the late
nineteenth century, probably developed
clearings of no more than a few acres.
Farm sites such as the homestead of
AndrewAnderson and otherpioneer
agriculturists now are indiscernible, or
virtually inaccessible. Due to its good spatial
integrity and location along a major island
trail, "Fat Annie's" place is an excellent
resource for interpreting family-based
subsistence agriculture on the island.
Fat Annie's husband was tragically killed while working in one of
Crescent lumber camps. 174 The size of the clearing at Fat Annie's
home site suggests that she may have engaged in subsistence ag
culture.
the
n-
Location and Landscape Setting
The site known as "Fat Annie's" is located in the south-central
portion of the island. It now consists of a small, somewhat circular
clearing that is positioned on a south-facing slope. The southern
edge of the clearing is bordered by a roadway that connects the
Fredericks on place and the west shore road with the east shore road.
Blackberries are invading the clearing along the road edge, and a
single apple tree is growing on the slope inside the clearing. Nearby,
there is a sugar maple tree and a black cherry tree. A depression
alongside the black cherry tree may mark the location of the house
(figure 4.92). No building foundations were located in 1997. Jean
Lundquist recalled that a small, dilapidated lean-to structure existed
"in the side of the clearing" during the late 1930s through the
1950s. 175 Rita Hadra Rusco once observed the remains of an old
foundation at the site, however, logging authorized by the Angell
Foundation during the 1970s "obliterated the old fence lines and
changed the ground surface." 176
Contributing Landscape Features
clearing apple tree
depression sugar maple tree
174 Lundquist, interview.
175 Lundquist, interview.
176 Rusco, North Manitou Island, 79.
206
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
HOMESTEADED FARMS WITH
No Extant Features
Andrew Anderson Homestead
Lot 3, Section 20; SW% NW% and WV.
Section 28, T31N R14W
SWA Section 21; Lot 1,
History and Agricultural Data
Andrew Anderson was living on North Manitou Island at the time
of the 1870 federal population census. According to the manuscript
schedule for the census, he was 47 years old, a native of Norway,
and working as fisherman. 177 On 6 September 1875, Anderson filed
a homestead entry for 159.40 acres of land in Sections 20, 21 and
28 of T31N, R14W. He indicated that he was a single man, over 21
years old, and intended to become a citizen of the United States.
Anderson settled on his claim in March 1876. He erected a log
house measuring 17' x 24', and a frame barn with dimensions of 20' x
37'; by 1882, Anderson had cleared 10 acres of woodland, and
chopped an additional 5 acres. 1 ' 8
The manuscript schedules for the 1880 federal census
identify Andrew Anderson as a single farmer from Sweden who
owned his farm. According to the 1880 census of agriculture,
Anderson had ten acres of tilled land, and 150 acres of woodland.
His farm was valued at $1,000, while his products had a market
value of $300 in 1879 — the greatest of North Manitou Island's
farmers at the time. He had one acre planted to barley, which
yielded ten bushels, one acre of corn that yielded 50 bushels, and
one acre of oats that yielded ten bushels. Two acres of potatoes had
produced 150 bushels. Anderson also had cut 75 cords of wood,
with a market value of $150. He owned two "other cattle," and six
poultry. During the previous year he had slaughtered four cattle, and
his poultry had provided thirty eggs. 179
When final testimony for his homestead proof was given in
August 1882, Anderson had five acres under cultivation, and had
raised crops on the land for five consecutive years. Anderson's
witnesses were North Manitou residents Gustaf Olson Swan and
Daniel Buss. 180 In 1888, Anderson paid cash for an additional forty
acres in the SW% of the SWVi of Section 15, T31N, R14W in
1888. 181 It appears that Anderson either died or departed North
Manitou Island during the 1890s, since he is not listed in the federal
census of population for 1900.
177 U.S. Census Office, "Ninth [1870]
Census of the United States —
Population," microfilm copy of
manuscript schedules, Library of
Michigan, Lansing.
,s Homestead Entry #7013, Final
Certificate #5308, National Archives and
Records Administration, Washington,
D.C Anderson's homestead "was for Lot
3 (21.4 acres), Section 20, SWA NWA
and WV2 SWA (77.3 acres) Section 21,
and Lot 1 (20.7 acres), Section 28, T31N
R14W, a total of 159.4 acres of land.
The application "was made on 6
September 1875, and the final proof
made on 10 October 1882.
179 U S. Census Office, "Tenth [1880]
Census of the United States — Popula-
tion;" U.S. Census Office, manuscript
schedules, Federal Agricultural Census,
microfilm copy at the State Archives
of Michigan, Lansing.
130 Homestead Entry #7013, Final
Certificate #5308, National Archives
and Records Administration, Washing-
ton, D.C.
207
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
181 U.S. Land Office, "Tract Books;"
182 U.S. Land Office, "Tract Books."
183 Homestead Appkcation No. 8910;
Final Certificate No. 6903, National
Archives and Records Administration,
Washington, D.C.
184 U.S. Land Office, "Tract Books."
185 U S. Census Office, "Tenth [1880]
Census of the United States — Popula-
tion;" U.S. Census Office, "Twelfth
[1900] Census of the United States —
Population."
186 U.S. Census Office, "Twelfth [1900]
Census of the United States — Popula-
tion." Fritz ("History Data Report," 84)
states that the brothers Nicholas and
John Feilen "were emigrants from
Germany. The 1900 census manuscript
indicates that Nicholas Feilen's parents
"were born in Germany. Nicholas,
however, "was born in Illinois.
187 Rusco, "North Manitou Island, 76.
Peter Hansen Homestead
EV 2 NWA, Section 21, T31N R14W
History and Agricultural Data
Peter Hanson homesteaded 80 acres of land in the EV2 of the
NWV4 Section 21, T31N, R14W The application was made on 4
October 1886, and the final proof was recorded on 2 February
1895. 182 A Danish immigrant, Hansen built a 14' x 16' log house by 29
March 1887. He also constructed a barn measuring 16' x 16.' Hansen
lived on his claim with his wife and their son and two daughters. He
cultivated approximately four acres of land during their first year of
residence. When final testimony was given in May 1894, Hansen, then
45 years of age and a U.S. citizen for two years, had improved eight
acres. Hansen had constructed fences on his North Manitou Island
property, and had cultivated approximately eight acres of land for
seven seasons. Witnessing on Hansen's behalf were fellow Danes and
North Manitou residents, Abendrick Frederickson, age 51, and An-
drew Paetschow, age 36. The final patent for Peter Hansen's homestead
was issued on 28 May 1895. 183 Peter Hansen and his family may have
left North Manitou Island shortly after acquiring title to their land in
1895, since the 1900 manuscript schedules do not list them as island
residents.
Lars Christopher Homestead
EV2 SWA, and WV2 SEVs Section 21, T31N R14W
History and Agricultural Data
According to land records for North Manitou Island, Lars Christo-
pher homesteaded 160 acres of land in the EV2 of the SWV4 and the
WY2 of the SE% of Section 21 in T31N, R14W His application was
made on 19 December 1884, and the final proof was made on 5
November 1890. 184 Little else is known about Christopher. His
homestead application documents have not been located, and he
does not appear in either the 1880 or 1900 federal population
census. 185
Nicholas Feilen Homestead
E V2 SE % Section 21, T31N, R14W; Lot 1 Section 27, T31N
R14W; Lot 4, Section 28
History and Agricultural Data
At the time of the 1900 federal population census, Nicholas Feilen
was a boarder with Albert Firestone, a farm laborer. Feilen, born in
August 1852 in Illinois, worked as a carpenter. 186 He is believed to
have arrived on North Manitou Island sometime during the late
1880s or early 1890s. 187 According to Josephine Hollister, Feilen and
his partner traveled to the island from Chicago in 1894 at the behest
208
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
Table 4.1
Crops Produced by Nicholas Feilen on His North Manitou Island
Homestead, 1904-1908
Year
Commodity
Corn (bu.)
Potatoes (bu.)
Oats (bu.)
Rye(bu.)
1901
10
15
—
—
3905
20
12
—
—
3906
12
15
12
—
3907
10
12
—
25
1906
10
25
—
20
Source: Homestead Entry #11151; Final Certificate #131334, Marquette, Michigan Land Office; National Archives and Records Administration,
Washington, D.C.
of Howard Foote. Feilen constructed the Foote family's cottage on
Lot No. 5 of Cottage Row, and also may have built the summer
home of the Trudes and other original Cottage Row property
owners. Construction of the Riggs cottage, and perhaps others, can
be attributed to Nicholas Feilen. 188
Feilen filed his homestead application for 140.20 acres on
North Manitou Island on 28 August 1903. His claim was adjacent to
the 152.2-acre homestead claim filed by Alvar Bournique also in
1903. Feilen testified that he had built a house in January 1904 on
the land located in sections 20, 21 and 28 of T31N, R14W When
he established residence there on 25 February 1904, Feilen was 57
years old and unmarried. The improvements to his homestead
included a one-and-a-half-story frame dwelling measuring 12' x 21'
that had two outside doors and seven windows. He also had con-
structed a stable measuring 12' x 20', a barn, a pig pen, a chicken coop,
and a well. In addition, John Ole Anderson testified that Feilen had a
smoke house on his homestead. He had fenced five acres of land,
planted ten apple trees, and had cultivated 35 acres, all of it located in
Section 21. Feilen also reported the quantities of agricultural com-
modities that he had produced on his homestead during the years
1904-1908 (Table 4.1). The final proof of Feilen's homestead applica-
tion was dated 8 October 1909. Feilen's witnesses were Alvar L.
Bournique, Fred Samuelson, Louis G. Dustin of North Manitou
Island, and John Ole Anderson, who identified his place of residence
as Suttons Bay, Michigan. The patentwas issued on 19 May 1910. 189
In the manuscript schedules for the 1910 federal population
census, Nicholas Feilen's occupation was listed as "general work." 190
Sometime between 1910 and 1920, he may have moved from his
homestead, since the 1920 census reports that Feilen was renting the
188 Hollister, "Summer Resort."
189 Homestead Entry #11151; Final
Certificate #131334, National Archives
and Records Administration, Washing
ton, D.C.
190 U.S. Department of Commerce,
Bureau of Census, "Thirteenth [1910]
Census of the United States — Popula-
tion."
209
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
\
■
4
Figure 4.93. Brothers Nicholas and John
Feilen making maple syrup on North
Manitou Island.
191 U. S. Department of Commerce,
Bureau of Census, "Fourteenth [1920]
Census of the United States — Popula-
tion."
192 Holhster, "Summer Resort."
19j Rusco, North Manitou Island, 76-77;
Fritz, "History Data Report," 17.
194 Rusco, North Manitou Island, 82;
Fritz, "History Data Report," 84.
195 Homestead Application No. 7390;
Final Certificate No. 6012, National
Archives and Records Administration,
Washington, DC
home in which he resided. He was 67 years old, and working on his
own account as a carpenter. 191 According to Josephine Hollister,
Nicholas lived with his brother John Feilen, a cabinet-maker, in a
house located east of the island schoolhouse (figure 4.93). 192 Nicho-
las died during the spring of 1938, and his brother died in Leland
the following year; both Feilen brothers are buried in the island
cemetery 193 Today there is little evidence of a house at the Feilen
homestead clearing. 194
Gustaf Olson Swan and Mary Olson Swan
Homestead
NE y 4 , Section 21, T31N, R14W
History and Agricultural Data
On 22 October 1878, Gustaf Olson Swan filed a homestead appli-
cation for 160 acres in the northeastern quarter of Section 21 in
T31N, R14W Swan settled there on 1 April 1879. He built a house,
16' x 32', a "board barn," 20' x 34', and cleared six acres of land. He
had six acres in crops for seven seasons. 195 At the time of the 1880
federal census, Gustav O. Swan, age 58, was living with his wife,
Alary, age 62; both were Swedish immigrants. The enumerator
reported that Swan owned his farm, valued at $500. He had two
acres of tilled land, and 158 acres of woodland. He owned one milk
cow, two other cattle, and twenty-four poultry. The Swans had pro-
210
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
duced 100 pounds of butter from their cow. One acre of corn had
yielded 50 bushels, and an acre of potatoes had produced 75 bushels.
Another acre planted to barley did not yield a crop. The total value of
the Swan's farm products in 1879 was $200. 196
The homestead documents indicate mat Gusaf Swan died
on 15 August 1884. 197 While the homestead records do not indicate
the cause of his death, the federal census enumerator noted, in
1880, that Swan had a "cancer on lip." 198 Gustaf Swan's wife Mary
continued to reside on the homestead until October 1885. She filed
the final proof to the holding on 1 April 1886. The witnesses were
Daniel L. Buss of Suttons Bay; and Charles Allard, Sr., Charles
Allard, Jr., and Louis Allard, all of Leland. Also testifying on Swan's
behalf were Charles J. Allard, Sr., a fisherman at Northport, and
Daniel L. Buss, a hotel supervisor in Suttons Bay, who lived on the
island until the fall of 1884. 199
Significant Non-farm
Properties Related to
the Agricultural
Community
Historically, most of North Manitou Island's families were sustained
by one or a combination of five activities — logging, farming,
fishing, recreation, and maritime commerce and navigation. The
relative importance of these activities varied over time, but each
represents a significant facet of the island's human history during
the last century and a half, and each contributed to the making of
the cultural landscape as it exists today. Linear features, such as
roads and trails, reveal how the various activities related to one
another, and suggest the extent to which they were interconnected
and synergistic. For example, all of the main non-agricultural en-
deavors were either dependent upon and/or supported farming on
the island. The visible, landscape clues left by the interplay of these
activities range from obvious to subtle.
Despite the extensive impact that it had on shaping the
island landscape, few intact artifacts related to logging activities still
196 U.S. Census Office, "Tenth [1880]
Census of the United States —
Population;" U S. Census Office,
"Tenth [1880] Census of the United
States — Schedule 2, Productions of
Agriculture," microfilm copy of
manuscript schedules, State Archives
of Michigan, Lansing.
197 Homestead Application No. 7390;
Final Certificate No. 6012, National
Archives and Records Administration,
Washington, D.C
198 U.S. Census Office, "Tenth [1880]
Census of the United States —
Population."
199 Homestead Application No. 7390;
Final Certificate No. 6012, National
Archives and Records Administration,
Washington, D.C.
211
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 4.94. One of the logging camps
operated on North Manitou Island by the
Smith & Hull Lumber Co., ca. 1908-
1915.
200 Paul Maleski, Jr., audio tape
recording, 29 August 1984.
exist on the island; the Manitou Island Association sawmill is the
most outstanding structure representing this theme. The history of
logging, however, is manifest in more subtle landscape features such
as the species composition and structure of North Manitou's forest
communities, the former Crescent railroad grade, and the clearings,
earthen depressions, and clusters of apple trees found at the Cres-
cent townsite and at sites such as the Davenport and Stormer
logging camps at the northern end of the island (figures 4.94 and
4.95).
Fishing was a subsistence activity that supported many early
North Manitou agriculturists. The history of fishing is less evident in
the island landscape than logging, partly because extensive coastal
erosion has destroyed cultural resources associated with this activity
over time. Paul Maleski, Jr., estimated that approximately 200 feet
of shoreline has been lost along the northeastern coast of the island
due to erosion since the late 1920s. The location of the Maleski
family's two fishing camps and dock, as well as the fishing camps of
other North Manitou settlers, now lies below the water level of
Lake Michigan. 200
Fishing in Lake Michigan was an important part of a diversi-
fied subsistence strategy for many North Manitou residents. How-
ever, two other activities — recreation and maritime navigation —
provided island residents with a more reliable source of cash in-
come. Like logging, both of these activities sustained a small local
market for agricultural products. During "boom" times, logging
operations were a substantial impetus for agricultural production on
the island. Intensive logging, however, occurred only in brief spurts
212
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
that lasted several years each, whereas recreation and maritime
navigation gave the island economy a more stable base. The island
resort community and its employees, and individuals who worked
for the U. S. Government lighthouse and Life Saving Service,
represented a significant local market for agricultural commodities
(figure 4.96). In competing with mainland farms, North Manitou's
agriculturists faced a serious disadvantage due to greater transporta-
tion costs — island farmers incurred additional expenses (in terms of
monetary costs, and in terms of time spent away from the farm)
conveying their commodities to mainland markets. Once they
reached the port, however, island farmers received no higher price
for their crops than mainland producers. The presence of an island
market allowed, and encouraged, farmers to shift some of their
production from traditional cash crops such as wheat and corn, to
commodities such as fresh fruits, vegetables, dairy products, meats,
ice, and firewood — items that were in demand by the local popula-
tion, but which were expensive to ship to the island. For North
Manitou's farmers, the local population was a "captive" market,
albeit a small one.
Significant cultural resources representing both recreation
and maritime navigation activities still remain on North Manitou
Island. The island lighthouse station, constructed in the 1890s at
the southeastern tip of the island, was gradually washed away
between 1942 and the 1970s due to shoreline erosion (figure
4.97). 201 The North Manitou U. S. Life Saving Service Station,
however, retains a high degree of integrity. The station complex is
now considered to be a nationally-significant historic resource, and
recently was designated a National Historic Landmark.
The most significant cultural resource associated with the
island's history as a resort, is Cottage Row. The summer houses of
Cottage Row retain varying degrees of physical integrity. However,
the district as a whole contains a rich array of structures and cul-
Figure 4.95. Stormer logging camp site,
1996. Small clearings containing
earthen depressions, various metal
artifacts, and relict cultural vegetation are
all that remain of North Manitou Island's
numerous twentieth-century lumber
camps.
Figure 4.96. U.S. government
lighthouse at the southeastern end of
North Manitou Island, ca. 1900. The
lighthouse station was abandoned in the
1930s, and later destroyed due to
shoreline erosion.
Rusco, North Manitou Island, 17.
213
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
wmk
£t^.t\Q*\ * ^.>0*-( OfttT^^fc^, W&^TVVY^
Figure 4.97. U.S. Life Saving Station and
Cottage Row, ca. 1900. Erected along
the crest of an ancient beach ridge, the
houses of Cottage Row provided their
occupants with excellent views of the
U.S. Life Saving Service station and the
Manitou Passage. The area between the
foot of the ridge and the shoreline
originally was reserved as parkland for
the common enjoyment of Cottage Row
residents.
tural landscape features that represent the history of recreation on
North Manitou Island and the larger region of northwestern lower
Michigan. Considered together, Cottage Row and the U.S. Life
Saving Service Station constitute an important maritime landscape
(figure 4.97). Other resources associated with the resort context
include the John Newhall Cottage, located west of North Manitou
Village, and the Bournique homestead, which also functioned as an
agricultural property (see above). Because of their intrinsic signifi-
cance, and their important links to the island agricultural economy,
the North Manitou U.S.L.S.S., Cottage Row, and the John Newhall
Cottage are described briefly below.
North Manitou Island U. S. Life-Saving Station
History
The history and cultural resources of the North Manitou Island U. S.
Life Saving Service Station have been documented extensively
through a recent effort to designate the complex as a National
Historic Landmark (NHL). The summary presented below is derived
from the 1994 draft national register nomination for the complex,
which was prepared by William Herd and Kimberly Mann of Sleep-
ing Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The nomination is the most
thoroughly-documented assessment of the historical significance
and physical integrity of the complex to date. Herd and Mann note
that the North Manitou station "is the oldest among the three [life-
saving stations on the Manitou Passage] and spans approximately 90
years of history representing the earliest beginnings of the Life-
214
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
Saving Service on the Great Lakes. The buildings illustrate the begin-
nings of the volunteer era, and continue through the expansion of the
Life-Saving Service into the Coast Guard era." (figure 4.98). 202
The life-saving station on North Manitou Island was founded
in September 1854 when Nicholas Pickard, operator of the island
cordwood station, and others submitted a bond to the U. S. Secretary
of the Treasury for delivery of a Francis Metallic Surf -Boat. Appar-
ently, Pickard also obtained plans for a boat house that had been
designed for use at twenty-eight stations established under authority
of an 1854 appropriation. Using these plans, a small wooden structure
was built not far from the dock at North Manitou Village. Twenty
years later, in 1874, an official U. S. Life-Saving Service Station was
established on a 40' x 20' tract that Nicholas Pickard leased to the
government for one dollar per year. A Life Boat Station was con-
structed on the island in 1877, and placed into service that same year
with an all-volunteer crew. North Manitou resident Daniel L. Buss
was appointed keeper of the station. Beginning in the following year,
the North Manitou Station was staffed by a paid six-man crew. Mem-
bers of the crew probably received housing and board from keeper
Daniel Buss, or from one of the other residents of the North
Manitou Village area. In 1887 a separate dwelling was built at the
North Manitou station to serve as housing for the crew; a small, hip-
roofed supply building was added to the complex in 1895; four years
later the crew built a root cellar. Other structures subsequently were
added to the station, including a new capstan and launch ramp,
concrete walkways, a flagpole, a windmill and water tower, and a
storage building for a generator and flammable materials constructed
around 1914-1916. Near the station, some crew members constructed
simple vernacular dwellings to house themselves and their families.
These buildings were often mobile, and tended to change position
with relative frequency over the course of many years.
Figure 4.98. U.S. Coast Guard Station,
ca. 1930. For nearly eighty years, the
presence of the U.S. Life Saving Service
station made North Manitou Village the
primary social and economic hub of the
island. The station represented an important
source of employmentforresidents, and a
small, local marketforagriculturists.
212 William Herd and Kimberly Mann,
"North Manitou Island Life-Saving
Station," National Register of Historic
Places Registration Form, 26 January
1994, Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore, Empire, Mich.
215
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
203 The U.S. Coast Guard "was created
"when the U.S. Life-Saving Service
combined with the Revenue Cutter
Service.
In 1915, the North Manitou Island Life-Saving Station became
part of the U.S. Coast Guard system. 203 The station operated until
1933, when the crew was reduced to a skeleton force. The U. S. Coast
Guard closed the station in 1938, and subsequently sold the buildings
and associated property to the Manitou Island Association. The AHA
adapted the buildings to support its various ventures on the island,
including employee housing. After the MIA lodge was destroyed by
fire in 1953, the organization remodeled the life-saving station dwell-
ing to serve as a new lodge, where paying guests received room and
board. This use of the property continued after the Angell Founda-
tion assumed control of the MIA in 1950, and finally ended in 1979
when the island was abandoned in anticipation of National Park
Service acquisition. Since assuming ownership of the island in 1984,
the National Park Service has rehabilitated the buildings and struc-
tures of the complex to serve administrative functions, including
employee housing.
Buildings, Structures, and Cultural Landscape Features
Cultural Landscape Features
A diverse array of cultural landscape features illustrate the evolu-
tion of the North Manitou Island life-saving station complex (figure
4.99). These range from the foundation of the flammable materials
shed, constructed in 1914-1916 near the Generator Building, a fire
pump well, lookout tower abutments, sidewalks, a sea wall, and
ornamental vegetation. The most prominent historic vegetation
elements in the district are several large Lombardy poplar trees,
which were introduced at the site sometime during the early 1900s.
The tall, vertical trees served an aesthetic function, as well as a
navigational purpose. Lombardy poplars also were planted at the
lighthouse at the southeastern end of the island. Other ornamental
vegetation includes Oriental poppies, bridal wreath spirea, Norway
maple (Acer plantanoides) and black locust trees, and lilac shrubs,
which may date from the Manitou Island Association era.
Hans Halseth House and Shed
Originally located near Nicholas Pickard's dock, the house was
relocated to its present site at the northern edge of the complex in
1910. The private residence of surfman Hans Halseth, the house is
a one-and-a-half-story wood-frame, side-gabled structure with a
central gabled dormer (figure 4.100). The house was constructed
circa 1890; a shed located behind the house was built around 1910.
Volunteer Rescue Station
Located 50 feet southeast of the Hans Halseth house, this structure
was built in 1854 from plans obtained by Nicholas Pickard for a
volunteer rescue station on North Manitou Island. The one-and-a-
half-story, front-gabled building has a heavy timber frame, and walls
sheathed with cedar boards (figure 4.101). This structure is believed to
216
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
_\0 '"••■■•:;•,_
\Jj \\ f~\U\A generatoK
BT ^-''BTri uilding Q
,^'
O
I..
o
P G
BL
NPS dock
paper y. L-!! - /^*^ -
birch y-^. •-. '•••. ■■ ri»>r T^ LP
x — / '^LJ HansHalseth w
ans Halseth
house
shed
BL
Q
! o
G
S^ LP _-
concrete /~\&
walkwayf
pnvies g t
ol
KEY
AP = apple
BL = black locust
BT = butternut
NM = Norway maple
SM = sugar maple
RO = red oak
WC = white cedar
S = spirea
L = lilac
OP = Oriental poppies
St = stump
— - — = historic district boundary
1854 volunteer
rescue station
flag locker
lookout tower
foundation
U.S. life boat station
sea wall
NM
S. Life-Saving
Service dwelling
crew ready room
generator building
shed foundation
Michigan
Scale
(Approximate)
100'
North
U.S. Life-Saving Service Complex
Site Plan
FIGURE 4.99
Drawing by Eric MacDonald
217
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 4.100. Hans Halseth House, U.S.
Life Saving Service station, 1996. This
simple, vernacular house is representative
of the modest dwellings thatUSLSS crew
members constructed for themselves
and their families. Like other small
structures at North Manitou Village,
these houses tended to be highly mobile
landscape features.
Figure 4.101. 1854 Volunteer Rescue Station beach cart house, north elevation, 1996.
This structure dates from the founding of the North Manitou Island volunteer rescue
station in 1854. The design of the beach cart house appears to be based on standard
plans developed for a series of 28 stations established by the U.S. Secretary of the
Treasury under a special 1854 appropriation. It is the oldest structure associated with
the USLSS on the Great Lakes.
218
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
be the only Volunteer Rescue Station remaining in the nation that
dates from the 1854 appropriation that established such stations.
The National Park Service has restored the structure to its original
design.
U. S. Life Boat Station
This structure was constructed by the North Manitou Island crew in
1877, using plans designed by Francis W Chandler in 1876. The
structure is an open, one-story boat house with a clipped gable roof
featuring decorative brackets and barge boards. The building was
later renovated by the Manitou Island Association, which removed
the boat door and added a new door and new windows, including a
large picture window in place of the former boat door. The AHA
also removed a lookout tower, which originally had surmounted the
roof of the building.
U. S. Life-Saving Service Dwelling
This structure was constructed in 1887, and is based on a plan
believed to be unique in the nation. The original design may be the
work of Albert B. Bibb, who designed a prototypical station for the
U. S. Life-Saving Service at Marquette, Michigan. The two-story
structure is roughly square in overall plan, with a steep gabled roof
and a large, central cross gable (figure 4.102). The U. S. Coast Guard
remodeled the dwelling in 1932, and the Manitou Island Association
further altered the building during the 1940s and 1950s to serve as
quarters for its employees, and as a lodge for its guests.
Crew Ready Room
Located a few feet southeast of the U. S. Life-Saving Service Dwell-
ing, this building was constructed in 1895 to function as a supply
building. The small, hip-roofed structure later was adapted for use
as a place where on-duty crewmembers could wait until called into
action for a drill or an emergency. In the 1940s the Manitou Island
1'r^ "+-m --^™i
i
i
3^ 4
Figure 4.102. U.S. Life Saving Service
dwelling and large lilac shrub, 1996. The
largest building in the North Manitou
USLSS complex, the dwelling was
constructed in 1887, and subsequently
remodeled by the U.S. CoastGuard during
the early 1930s. After a fire destroyed the
Manitou Island Association lodge in
1953, the MIA rehabilitated the former
USLSS dwelling to house groups of
sportsmen who traveled to the island to
hunt and fish.
219
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 4.103. Root cellar and Lombardy
poplar trees, 1996. Crew members
used this root cellar to store fruits,
vegetables, and other foods purchased
from island farmers.
Association renovated the interior for use as living quarters. The
National Park Service has partially restored the facade of the
structure, and has adapted the building for use as staff housing.
Generator Building
Constructed in 1914-1016, the Generator Building is a nondescript,
single-story, gable-roofed shed.
Root Cellar
Constructed in 1899 by the life-saving station crew, the root cellar
has field stone and mortar walls and a gable roof clad with wood
shingles (figure 4.103). The root cellar stored carrots, onions,
cabbages, and other food items that were purchased from island
farmers.
Cottage Row
History
Cottage Row was a real estate development initiated by Chicago
residents Frederick H. Trude and George W Blossom, in coopera-
tion with Blossom's father-in-law, Silas Boardman. In 1894, Trude
and Blossom paid Boardman $500 for a parcel of land located
southwest of the North Manitou Life-Saving Station. A covenant
attached to the deed stipulated that the parcel was to be divided
into ten east- fronting lots measuring 102' wide by 300' deep. Deed
restrictions on the lots permitted the construction of only cottages
and outbuildings on the lots. A significant portion of the parcel was
reserved for use as a private park, and terms of the covenant allowed
220
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
Figure 4.104. Cottage Row boardwalk,
ca. 1900.
I - J
Figure 4.105. Women pose on the front
porch of the hotel at the northern end of
Cottage Row, ca. 1900.
for the development of private roadways, the use of Boardman's pier
on Lake Michigan, and access to Lake Manitou. 204 Common infra-
structure included roadways, boardwalks, and gas lights (figure 1.104).
A large house located just beyond the northern end of the develop-
ment was adapted to serve as a communal dining room (figure 4.105).
It was later acquired by the Newhall family and used as a hotel.
Another cottage, a large shingle-style structure built for Mrs. William
Shepard and her daughter Katherine, later functioned as a hotel.
According to Josephine Hollister, who was a descendant of one of
the original Cottage Row property owners, the Trudes and Blossoms
planned to sell the lots to personal acquaintances and friends. In
effect, the Trudes and Blossoms aimed to create a private, exclusive
resort community on the island. Many families who purchased lots in
Cottage Row later became related through marriage. 205
2u4 Leelanau Deeds, Liber 21, 326-328.
205 Hollister, "The Summer Resort."
221
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 4.106. Members of the 1900
Cottage Row resort colony on North
Manitou Island pose in frontof the island
hotel.
The Cottage Row summer resort colony constituted an
important faction of the North Manitou Island community for more
than fifty years (figure 4.106). The colony was particularly important
because it provided seasonal employment for year-round island
residents. In particular, the wives and children of North Manitou
farmers and U. S. Life-Saving Service crewmen found jobs as ser-
vants in the privately-owned summer homes of Cottage Row, in the
communal dining room, and at hotel operated by Katie Shepard
(figure 4.107). For the island's year-round residents, the Cottage
Row colony represented a significant source of supplemental cash
income. Although some of the cottage owners maintained small
gardens, the hotel and summer visitors also provided a much-needed
local market for fresh vegetables, fruits, meats, and dairy products.
William Angell began purchasing Cottage Row properties in
1926. During the remainder of the 1920s, and continuing through
the 1940s, several Cottage Row houses were occupied by sharehold-
ers of the Manitou Island Association and their associates, including
Frank Reed, Roger Sherman, and George McConnell. The hotel and
communal dining room at the northern end of Cottage Row served
as the MIA lodge, where guests of the association's members were
housed. Many of the cottages, however, apparently fell into disuse
around the time that the Angell Foundation assumed control of the
MIA during the early 1950s. The MIA lodge was destroyed by fire in
1953, and all but one of the cottages have been abandoned ne-
glected since the MIA ceased its operations on the island in 1979.
Descendants of the Howard Foote family — one of the original
members of the Cottage Row summer colony — own the only cottage
that is currently maintained and occupied.
222
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
Figure 4.107. The Cottage Row resort
colony's "Culinary Dept," 1900. Year-
round island residents took jobs cooking,
cleaning, and doing otherdomestic chores
for Cottage Row residents. Given the
island's remote, isolated economy, the
cottage dwellers and hotels presented
residents with rare opportunities forwage
labor.
Landscape Setting
The Cottage Row district is a linear cluster of small, wood-frame
houses and other landscape elements situated along the crest of the
beach ridge that overlooks the North Manitou Life-saving Service
complex (figure 4.109). 206 The buildings are oriented eastward to
take advantage of off-shore breezes, as well as superb views of the
Manitou Passage and the Michigan mainland (figure 4.108). From
this prime vantage point, the summer residents could monitor
activities of the life-saving service station, as well as steamship
traffic through the passage. A board walk, shaded by sugar maple
and Norway maple trees, once extended along this area. Parallel
rows of small field stones, which may have been part of the board-
walk construction, are visible on the ground surface at several
locations.
Individual Properties — History and Associated Cultural
Resources
Lot No. 1, Katie Shepard Hotel, "The Beeches"
The large, one-and-a-half-story, shingle-style house was constructed
in 1895 or 1896 for Mrs. William Shepard and her daughter
Katherine, who was popularly known on the island as "Miss Katie."
The house was allegedly designed in the style of the Shepards'
residence in New Orleans (figures 4.110-112). A detached kitchen
and dining room was located behind the house. Miss Katie is be-
lieved to have opened the house as a hotel known as "The Beeches"
around the time that the Newhall family commenced logging on its
North Manitou lands, ca. 1908. At that time, the Newhalls discontin-
ued meal service at the communal dining hall located at the northern
end of Cottage Row. Thereafter, residents took their meals at Katie 1
Figure 4.08. The second Howard Foote
cottage, viewed from below the beach
ridge, ca. 1901. The configuration of the
Cottage Row parcels and accompanying
deed restrictions ensured that each
property owner would have an
unobstructed view of the beach and the
Manitou Passage.
206 The "Monte Carlo" cottage and the
site of the former dining hall/MIA
lodge, "which are located just beyond
the northernmost Cottage Row lot, are
considered to be part of the proposed
district because these properties are
continuous "with the other cottages in
terms of proximity, design, historical
associations, and general character.
223
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 4.125 ■
Figure 4.121
gs^f °
>^~ Vs dining hall ^
™ , f ;• site o
Figure 4.110-
oo
o
o
G
Oj
■'Monte Carlo 1
cottage
o
O
O
Shirley Foote
Alford cottage
Margaret Riggs
cottage
Howard W. Foote
cottage
Frederick and Mary
Trude cottage
George and Carrie
Blossom cottage
Margaret and Roderick
Peattie treehouse
Katie Shepard
hotel
North
Scale
(Approximate)
100' 200'
Cottage Row
General Site Plan
FIGURE 4.109
Drawing by Eric MacDonald
224
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
relict agricultural
clearing
KEY
AP = apple
BC = black cherry
SM = sugar maple
R = ornamental rose
L = lilac
S = spirea
Y = yarrow
North
Scale
.'*»?*
t^H**-*
30'
60
**0\: -
- • "'1
Cottage Row
Lots 1-4
FIGURE 4.110
Drawing by Eric MacDonald
225
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 4.111. Chet Maleski on the porch
of Miss Katie Shepard's hotel, ca. 1925.
In addition to providing wage jobs, North
Manitou's summer residents and hotels
gave the Maleski family with an important
marketforfresh produce.
207 Lundquist, interview.
208 Fritz, "History Data Report," 20;
Hollister, "The Summer Resort."
Shepard's dining room. Shepard continued to operate the hotel and
dining room until poor health forced her to discontinue the business
sometime in the early 1930s.
After Katie Shepard's death, ownership of the property
passed to her niece, Edna Shepard Dean. Jean Lundquist recalled
that for several summers during the late 1930s and 1940s the house
was rented by "Captain and Airs. Saxton." Captain Saxton appar-
ently was a veteran of the Spanish American War, and often enter-
tained the Londergans and other Cottage Row residents with sto-
ries. 207 Continental Motors Corporation purchased the property from
Dean sometime around 1950, and the Angell Foundation acquired
the lot and buildings from the Teledyne Corporation (successor to
Continental Motors Corporation) in 1969. 208
Although currently in urgent need of repair, the hotel
remains in sound structural condition. The dining room appeared to
be in stable structural condition in 1979 when Shunichi Hagiwara
inventoried the site. The building had a front porch that was entirely
screened by wooden lattice, and covered by a shingle-clad gable
containing a single square-shaped window. Subsequent neglect has
reduced the former dining room to a heap of rubble and wooden
debris. Cultural landscape features include a concrete terrace and a
ruined water cistern located behind the hotel, a concrete walkway
and a metal rose trellis in front of the hotel, and a stairway that leads
down the slope of the bluff to a ruined gazebo/well house. Orna-
226
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
mental vegetation includes a large lilac shrub, and an ornamental
ground cover in front of the hotel.
Lot No. 2
In 1895 or 1896 a solid-looking shingle-style cottage was con-
structed in Lot #2 by a couple known as "Mr. and Mrs. Hewitt"
(figure 4.113). Shirley Foote Alford described the Hewitts' Cottage
Row house, furnished in "burlap and calico," as "the prettiest
[cottage] of all." 209 A few years later the Hewitts, who were immi-
grants from England, sold the cottage to Dr. John Edwin and Louise
Rhoades. In a wooded area adjacent to the cottage, the Rhoades
built a small play house for their daughter, Margaret. Shortly after
Margaret married Roderick Peattie, a lower floor was added to the
play house, transforming it into a small, two-story, private cottage
for Margaret and Roderick called "the treehouse." In 1927, soon
after inheriting her parent's cottage, Margaret Peattie sold the
property to William Angell. Jean Lundquist recalled that sometime
during 1937-1950s the treehouse was occupied by an American
Indian man named "Raphael." 210 The cottage eventually fell into
disuse, and was torn down by the Manitou Island Association.
However, Margaret and Roderick Peattie's "treehouse" remains
standing on the site. The structure was intact when it was invento-
ried in 1979 by Shunichi Hagiwara, but it is now severely deterio-
rated and in urgent need of stabilization (figure 4.114). 211 The
treehouse is completely surrounded by trees and dense herbaceous
Figure 4.112. Katie Shepard hotel, 1996.
One of two resort hotels that operated on
the island, The Beeches" began as the
private summer home of Mrs. William
Shepard and her daughter, Katherine.
209 Shirley Foote Alford, untitled
manuscript c a. 1920s, typedby
Josephine Hollister, n.d. (Betty Kramer
Collection, Leelanau County Historical
Museum, Leland, Mich.).
210 Lundquist, interview.
227
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 4.113. Hewitt cottage, 1904.
Figure 4.114. Margaret and Roderick Peattie treehouse, 1996. The two-story cottage
built for Margaret and Roderick Peattie is one of the most curious structures on North
Manitou Island. Unfortunately, the treehouse is deteriorating rapidly due to several
decades of deferred maintenance.
228
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
and woody undergrowth. A small slate patio remains along the
western side of the structure, as does a clump of yarrow planted
along the eastern foundation.
Lot No. 3, George and Carrie Blossom Cottage
Originally located in the "farmhouse yard" of Silas Boardman's
farm, George and Carrie Blossom moved this small house to their
Cottage Row lot in 1894. The one-and-a-half-story front-gable-and-
ell structure had a light wood frame, gabled dormers, and a full
verandah across the front (east) elevation (figure 4.115). The
Blossoms later sold the cottage to the Burdick family, who called it
"Tanglewood." The house was occupied by Frank Reed when the
Manitou Island Syndicate began consolidating its island property
holdings during the late 1910s and early 1920s. In 1937, William
Angell purchased the property from Vincent Reed, who was residing
in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania. 212
Although its front porch was missing, the house appeared to
be structurally sound when Shunichi Hagiwara surveyed Cottage
Row in 1979. 213 After decades of neglect, however, the Blossom
cottage is now a ruin (figure 4.116). The structure is becoming
engulfed in vegetation. A small cluster of bridal wreath spirea
shrubs is located along the north elevation of the house, and an-
other cluster of spirea is located in front of the house, along the
edge of the bluff. Nearby, is a large patch of ornamental roses. A
well house ruin is located at the base of the bluff.
Figure 4.115. George and Carrie
Blossom cottage, ca. 1900. The
Blossom cottage is historically significant
as the summer residence of one of
Cottage Row's founding families, and as
the first cottage to occupy a site in the
private, quasi-communal resort
development. U nfoitunately, the severely
dilapidated cottage slowly is disappearing
from the Cottage Row landscape.
211 Shunichi Hagiwara, "Building-
Structure Inventory."
212 Fritz, "History Data report," 20;
Hollister, "The Summer Resort."
21j Shunichi Hagiwara, "Building-
Structure Inventory."
229
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 4.116. George and Carrie
Blossom cottage ruin, 1996. The mown
pathway approximates the route of the
former Cottage Row boardwalk, which
followed the crest of the beach ridge.
Although the wooden walkway has long
since disappeared, large maple trees,
ornamental shrubs, and rows of
fieldstones delineate its former location
and alignment.
214 Alford, untitled manuscript.
215 William Allin Starrer, "What's in a
Plan? The Blossom/Fiske Cottage,"
FLAT Update 9(1): 1-2, (June 1989).
216 Inland Architect and News Record 23 (2) ,
n.p. (March 1894). The notice reads:
"Architect F.L. Wright:. ...Also for
George W Blossom, a summer cottage,
to be built at Manitou."
Lot No. 4, Frederick H. and Mary Trude Cottage
The cottage on Lot No. 4 was built by Nicholas Feilen in 1 894 for
Frederick H. and Alary Trude, one of the developers of the Cottage
Row resort colony (figure 4.117). 214 The Trude house is one of three
Cottage Row houses based on a vernacular "dog-trot" architectural
plan — that is, rooms are arranged along each side of a covered
breezeway, with the doors opening into the central passage. The
origins of the dog-trot plan are traced to the gulf coast area of
Mississippi, where it later evolved into a bungalow house type, with
a breezeway that was enclosed to form a central room, one or two
fireplaces, and a gallery or verandah that extended across the front
of the house (figure 4.118). The verandah was positioned to capture
on-shore/off-shore breezes to cool the house naturally 215
How the dog-trot bungalow house type was transported to a
remote corner of northern Michigan, far removed from coastal
Mississippi, is a mystery that has prompted considerable speculation
among architectural historians. Much of the speculation revolves
around George Blossom's connection with Chicago architects Louis
Sullivan and Wright. Sometime between 1892 and 1895, George
Blossom commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to design a summer
house for him and his wife on North Manitou Island. 216 Blossom may
have become acquainted with Wright while the architect was work-
ing in the office of Louis Sullivan, since Sullivan had recently
230
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
Figure 4.117. Frederick H. and Mary Trude cottage, front (eastern) elevation, 1996.
The trude cottage is one of three Cottage Row houses that appear to be influenced by
vernacular dog-trot bungalows, a common house type in Gulf Coast resort
communities. The broad front gallery of the Trude cottage takes advantage of the
building's orientation toward the Manitou Passage.
Source: Derived from Allen G. Noble, Wood, Brick, and Stone: The North American
Settlement Landscape (Amherst, Mass.: University of Massachusetts Press, 1984) Fig. 10-37.
Typical Dog-trot House Floor Plan
FIGURE 4.118
Drawing by Eric MacDonald and Katie Franks
231
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
217 William Allrn Starrer, What's in a
Plan?," 1-2.
213 Holhster, "The Summer Resort."
219 Lundquist, interview.
Figure 4.119. Frederick H. and Mary
Trude cottage, rear (western) elevation,
1996. Because residents and guests took
meals atthe communal dining room located
atthe northern end of Cottage Row,
individual cottages originally lacked
kitchens. Afterthe Cottage Row dining room
closed around 1908, Katie Shepard
opened herhome as a hotel, and offered
meals to summer residents in a detached
dining pavilion. Rearkitchen ells laterwere
added to several Cottage Row houses,
including the cottage built by the Trudes.
Mostof the additions probably were
constructed during the early 1930s, shortly
afterKatie Shepard closed herhotel and
dining room.
designed a new house for George and Carrie Blossom in Chicago.
While no records of Wright's contract with Blossom have been
located, it is possible that the famed architect produced a design
based on the dog-trot bungalow plan, a house type with which he
may have been familiar through his work in Sullivan's office.
Sullivan was familiar with the dog-trot house type, as demonstrated
by cottage designs he prepared for himself and others at Ocean
Springs, Mississippi, during the early 1890s. Architectural historian
Paul Sprague has questioned Wright's authorship of the Trude
cottage design, but it is possible that the Trudes based the design of
their cottage on plans that Wright had developed for their close
personal friends, the Blossoms. Yet another possibility is that the
cottage now known as "Monte Carlo," which may have been built by
the Blossoms, is the design produced by Wright. The sense of
proportion and scale reflected in the Monte Carlo cottage plan
seems to represent a more refined architectural sensibility. 217
The provenance of the Trude cottage remains unclear.
Josephine Hollister notes that it, as well as the neighboring Howard
Foote cottage, was constructed of materials reused from dismantled
exhibition booths of the Manufacturers' Building at the 1893
Chicago World's Columbian Exposition. 218 Both cottages are light-
wood frame buildings sheathed with clapboard siding, and both
have similar dog-trot floor plans: a full-width verandah across the
eastern elevation connected to a central living room flanked by two
bedrooms on either side. The Trude cottage, like all of the other
Cottage Row houses, originally did not have a dining room or
kitchen, as residents took meals at the communal dining hall located
at the northern end of the row. As with the other Cottage Row
houses, a kitchen was added to the Trude cottage after the closing
of Katie Shepard's dining room during the 1930s (figure 4.119). The
addition also included an indoor bathroom, although the cottage
remained without electrical service. 219 Unlike the other two North
232
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
Manitou dog-trot bungalows, the Trude cottage was not built on a
raised foundation wall. Instead, the structure rests on a stone and
concrete foundation that rises only a few inches above grade. The
interior walls of the cottage were not plastered; rather, decorative
moldings were added in the spaces between structural members, and
all of the exposed wood surfaces were varnished.
A few years after building the cottage, the Trudes sold their
Cottage Row property to George and Mary Fiske. The Fiskes also
purchased Lot No. 8, and an additional parcel of island land, which
they later exchanged for waterfront acreage on the eastern side of
Lake Manitou. The Cottage Row property remained in the Fiske
family until 1979. 220
Located behind the Trude cottage are a water cistern, an
automobile garage, a storage shed, and a privy (figure 4.120).
Ornamental vegetation includes a lilac shrub located south of the
house, and a cluster of lilacs growing in front of the house, at the
edge of the bluff.
Lot No. 5, Howard W Foote Cottage
The cottage on Lot No. 5 was built for the Howard W Foote family
during the summer of 1894 by two Chicago carpenters, one of
whom was Nicholas Feilen, who later settled a homestead on North
Manitou Island. The plan of the Foote cottage is similar to that of
the Trude cottage (Figure 4.121). Unlike the other North Manitou
dog-trot cottages, however, the Foote cottage has a gable-roofed
porch that extends across only three-quarters of the width of the
front elevation (figure 4.122).
In 1900, Foote sold the cottage to S. W McMunn, the father
of Mary McMunn Bournique. Later, the property was purchased by
William Stark, a partner in the Stark Bros. Nursery Co. of Louisiana,
Missouri. The cottage subsequently was purchased by Katie
Figure 4.120. Frederick H. and Mary
Trude water cistern and outbuildings,
1996. The Trude cottage water cistern is
an intact example of a once-common
feature on North Manitou Island.
Evidence of similar cisterns exists at
several sites, including the Katie
Shepard hotel, the Bournique summer
residence, and the Mads and Gertrude
Nerland / J ohn and lldri Anderson
house.
220 Fritz, "History Data Report," 74;
Hollister, "The Summer Resort."
233
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Margaret Riggs
cottage
snow berry
\Oi/ V-r-— <>SM
Lot No. 7
'■4 05 >■
T O *.-■
■i .5 ■*"
relict cherry
orchard
>* *.■
AP
well ,
if
n
Lot No. 6
IAA
KEY
AP = apple
BC = black cherry
BS = black spruce
LP = Lombardy poplar
RM = red maple
SM = sugar maple
R = ornamental rose
S = spirea
L= lilac
Scale
(Approximate)
North
Cottage Row
Lots 5-8
FIGURE 4.121
Drawing by Eric MacDonald
234
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
■:*«^ia*#.:
. ■
Shepard, who then sold it to William Angell in 1928. According to
Jean Lundquist, Angell purchased the cottage for his wife, although
she rarely, if ever, visited the island. 221 The cottage later was used by
Avery Wing, who owned a l/20th share of the Manitou Island
Association from the late 1940s until the association was liquidated
following National Park Service acquisition of the island. Wing
claimed ownership of the Cottage Row lot, although he apparently
never received the deed from Angell. 222 Ornamental vegetation
includes a lilac shrub and a cultivated rose planted near the northern
lot line. A cluster of apple trees is located northwest of the cottage.
A cluster of lilacs and a ruinous well house is located below the
house, at the base of the bluff.
Lot No. 6
Lot No. 6, one of the first Cottage Row parcels sold by Blossom and
Trude, was purchased in November 1894 by John H. Keating (figure
4.21). During the following summer, Nicholas Feilen built a cottage
on the lot for Keating, his wife Ellen, and their daughter Ethel.
During the early 1940s the Keating cottage was relocated to a site
north of the "Campbell" house. Lacking a stable foundation at its
new site, the structure collapsed and was subsequently removed. 223
Lot No. 7
No structure was built on Lot No. 7, which was owned by Cottage
Row property owners S. W McMunn, and subsequently, by Dr. John
Rhoades. The Angell Foundation acquired the lot in 1958.
Lot No. 8, Margaret Riggs Cottage
The parcel initially was purchased by G. A. M. Liljencrantz. It subse-
quently was owned by George Fiske, who later sold the lot to Marga-
ret Riggs, a frequent guest at Katie Shepard's hotel. In 1924, Nicholas
Feilen constructed a cottage on the property for Riggs (figure 4.123).
Margaret Londergan, who was William AngelPs personal secretary,
Figure 4.122. Howard W. Foote cottage,
1996. Like other Cottage Row houses,
the Foote cottage originally fronted onto
a boardwalk that extended along the
edge of the beach ridge.
22 ' Lundquist, interview.
222 Fritz, "History Data Report," 20,
74-75; Hollister, "The Summer
Resort;" Memorandum, [W] Craig
Keith to [Board of Trustees, William
R. Angell Foundation], 31 December
1976; Alford, untitled manuscript.
223 Alford, untitled manuscript.
235
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
224 Fritz, "History Data Report," 20,
75; Hollister, "The Summer Resort;"
[W] Craig Keith to [Board of
Trustees, William R. Angell Founda-
tion], 31 December 1976; Rusco, North
Manitou Island, 14-15; Lundquist,
interview.
225 The resemblance of the Riggs cottage
floor plan to the room arrangement of
the other North Manitou "dog-trot"
cottages suggests that Felien may have
been responsible for promulgating the
dog-trot plan on the island. Feilen "was
brought to the island specifically to
build cottages for Cottage Row's first
residents. Perhaps Feilen came to the
island after gaining first-hand experience
of such architecture in the Gulf Coast
region. Perhaps it "was there that Feilen
also observed the poteaux sur solle
construction technique that he used at
the Alvar and Mary Bournique
residence.
Figure 4.123. Margaret Riggs cottage, 1996. The floor plan of the Riggs house
resembles a modified version of the dog-trot-inspired plans of the Trude, Foote, and
Monte Carlo cottages— a trait that may reflect the influence of its builder, Nicholas
Feilen. Feilen also constructed the Alvar and Mary Bournique residence, another
summer home with apparent ties to the vernacular architectural traditions of the Gulf
Coast region. Perhaps Feilen was at least partly responsible for introducing southern
vernacular architectural forms to this remote corner of the upper Midwest.
purchased Margaret Riggs' cottage in 1947. Londergan and her
daughter, Jean, had spent summers on the island since 1937. Each
summer, Londergan traveled to the island with Angell in order to
assist him in the management of the MIA and other business matters.
In 1956, Londergan agreed to sell the property to the Angell Founda-
tion, however the sale was not completed until 1958. A garage and a
privy were located behind the house. The house lacked an indoor
bathroom until shortly before it was sold to the foundation. 224
Although the exterior form of the Riggs cottage resembles a
small, one-story, front-gable and-ell dwelling, its interior room
arrangement mimics that of the Cottage Row dog-trot houses. 225
Instead of a full front verandah, however, the Riggs cottage has
only a small, arch-roofed hood that projects over the stoop (figure
4.124). Ornamental vegetation includes two large spruce trees in
front of the house, a clump of snowberry at the edge of the bluff,
and a ruinous well house below. A cluster of fruit trees extends
across the western portion of the lot.
236
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
Lot No. 9, Shirley Foote Alford Cottage
Howard Foote built his second Cottage Row house on this lot in
1901. Following the death of his wife, ownership of the property-
passed to Foote's children. The house was destroyed by fire in 1935.
In its place, Foote's daughter, Shirley Foote Alford, erected a small
house purchased as a kit from Sears & Roebuck (Figure 4.125). 226 The
house and lot currently are owned and maintained by Alford's grand-
children.
The Alford cottage is a small, one-story side-gabled structure
with a full-width front verandah (figure 4.126). One of the cabins
built by the MIA during the 1930s to house migrant orchard workers
is located behind the Alford cottage (figure 4.127). Like the cottage,
this structure is in excellent condition. A cluster of fruit trees is
located at the rear of the lot, behind the cabin.
Lot No. 10
This lot was never built upon. Initially purchased by a man named
Fox, William Angell bought the property from John N. Kail, who
owned the lot in 1926. Lot No. 10 was AngelPs first Cottage Row
acquisition. During the 1930s and 1940s, Angell utilized the lot as a
small alfalfa field, which was intended to entice deer to the area.
Angell apparently took great pleasure in observing the deer that he
helped establish on the island. 227
Figure 4.124. Margaret Riggs cottage,
entrance detail, 1996. Although the
interior room arrangement of the Riggs
cottage is similar to that of the Trude,
Foote, and Monte Carlo cottages, the
exterior form of the house bears little
resemblance to those earlier dwellings.
The most obvious departures are the
asymmetrical front elevation of the Riggs
cottage, and the lack of a broad gallery,
which has been replaced by a small
covered stoop.
226 Hollister, "Summer Resort;" Fritz,
"History Data Report," 75. Fritz
states that the original cottage burned
in 1934.
227 Fritz, "History Data Report," 20,
76; Lundquist, interview. Fritz states
that the Monte Carlo cottage "was
erected on Lot No. 10. However, that
cottage was built on an adjacent parcel
north of Lot No. 10.
237
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
SM
cobblestone edge
KEY
AP = apple
•* % i
BL = black locust
= to \.
\ ° -
LP = Lombardy poplar
•1 -g> s
•■; i -.-■
NM = Norway maple
RM = red maple
SM = sugar maple
1 1
F = bracken fern
+ V
D = day lily
L = lilac
\ I
R = ornamental rose
"■* %,
S = spirea
V= vinca minor
> *i
mown path /
former boardwalk
location
: : ; G.
Lot No. 10
North
Scale
(Approximate)
40'
80'
■if
Shirley Alford
Foote cottage
m
relict
beach ridge
Cottage Row
Lots 9-10, Monte Carlo Cottage, and Dining Hall Site
FIGURE 4.125
Drawing by Eric MacDonald
238
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
Figure 4.126. Shirley Foote Alford cottage and migrant orchard workers' cabin, 1996.
A "mail-order" house, the Alford cottage represents a practical solution to the dilemma
of constructing a building in a remote setting that, during the late 1930s, lacked both
modern materials and a skilled labor force.
Figure 4.127. Migrant orchard workers' cabin, 1996. The design of this former
orchard workers' cabin, which is located behind the Alford cottages, is nearly identical
to that of the three structures standing north of the village. This cabin, however, is in
superior physical condition.
239
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
fylirte Csa/c *- J^uv.',^ ' +**'
Figure 4.128. Monte Carlo cottage and
the Cottage Row hotel and dining room,
ca. 1900. The Monte Carlo is one of
three Cottage Row houses that may be
based on a design prepared by Frank
Lloyd Wright for George and Carrie
Blossom.
Alford, untitled manuscript.
"Monte Carlo" Cottage
The cottage known as "Monte Carlo" was constructed "between the
time the summer people left in 1893 and returned in 1894" by
"relatives of the Boardman family." 228 It is situated on a three-acre
parcel of property located directly north of the Cottage Row plat.
The Monte Carlo cottage shared this parcel with the former home
of U. S. Life-Saving Service keeper Daniel Buss, which Silas
Boardman moved from its original location near the life-saving
station (figure 4.128). The Buss house was remodeled to serve as a
communal dining facility for Cottage Row property owners. Dining
service for Cottage Row residents apparently was discontinued during
the Newhall era, when the building functioned as a hotel.
The Monte Carlo is the third dog-trot bungalow cottage on
North Manitou Island. It predates the other Cottage Row houses,
and may have been built by George and Carrie Blossom. Its archi-
tectural design, as well as the possibility that the house was con-
structed by the Blossoms, suggests that it may be the cottage
designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The Foote family stayed at the
"Monte Carlo" while carpenters completed their cottage in 1894.
The design of both the Foote and Trude cottages may be based on
that of the Monte Carlo. Regardless of their provenance, the Trude,
Foote, and Monte Carlo cottages represent a distinctive house type
that is exceedingly rare in the northern Great Lakes region.
A 1919 survey of the North Manitou Village area indicates
that the dining hall and Monte Carlo parcel were owned then by M. T
Bacon. The property eventually was acquired by William Angell, who
occupied the Monte Carlo during his visits to the island. The dining
240
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
*'
hall/hotel was converted into a lodge for guests of the Manitou
Island Association. The structure was destroyed by fire in 1953.
The Monte Carlo cottage remains in stable structural condi-
tion (figure 4.129). Ornamental vegetation at the site includes several
Norway maple trees scattered around the house, two bridal wreath
spirea shrubs flanking the front entrance, and a third spirea shrub
across the walkway that runs along the crest of the beach ridge. North
of the cottage, the site of the former MIA lodge is marked by a slight
earthen depression and a single spirea shrub growing near the walk-
way.
Con trib u ting Lan ds cape Comp on en ts
concrete walkways boardwalk field stones
Norway maple trees sugar maple trees
spirea shrubs rose shrubs
Figure 4.129. Monte Carlo cottage,
1996. William Angell used the Monte
Carlo cottage as his island residence.
241
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 4.130. The cottage built for J ohn
Newhall near the edge of the North
Manitou Village clearing, ca. 1900. The
cottage served as Newhall's residence
while he was on the island managing the
family's extensive agricultural and resort
business.
229 Fritz, "History Data Report," 76;
Rusco, North Manitou Island, 14;
Hollister, "The Summer Resort;" W O.
Greene, surveyor, "Subdivisions of
Section 34, T32N R14W, N. Manitou
Id.," 3 October 1919, MIA Collection,
Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore, Empire, Mich.
John Newhall Cottage
History
In 1902, shortly after he and his father acquired large tracts of North
Manitou Island, Benjamin Newhall constructed two houses north of
the east-west dock road leading from the North Manitou dock. The
smaller of the two, located near the western edge of the village
clearing, was occupied by John Newhall, who managed the family's
various island business ventures (figure 4.130). By 1919, N E. Degan
had purchased the 250' by 700' parcel containing the two houses. The
Degans are credited with introducing Lombardy poplars to the North
Manitou Island landscape. According to island lore, Airs. Degan
allegedly brought several trees from France to her island property. The
offspring of these trees apparently were planted elsewhere in the
village area, where they continue to be prominent features of the
landscape.
The Degans and their children used both houses as summer
cottages until 1946, when they sold their property to the Manitou
Island Association. The southern end of the landing strip developed
by the AHA later traversed the property, passing between the two
houses. The AHA utilized the easternmost house, the largest of the
two, as a school until it was destroyed by fire in 1956. That same
year, Jurica and Day, owners of the Lake Alichigan Hardwoods
Company, began utilizing the John Newhall cottage as the headquar-
ters for their timber cutting operations on the island. The cottage
may have continued to serve this function until the MIA's last
contract with the Lake Alichigan Hardwoods Company expired in the
late 1970s. 229
242
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
Location
The surviving Newhall cottage is located directly west of the North
Manitou Village along the road that leads from the village dock to
Lake Manitou. The cottage is situated north of the road on land that
slopes gently upward toward the edge of the woods to the west. The
site of the other cottage is marked by a dense cluster of Lombardy
poplar trees located several yards east of the remaining cottage
(figure 4.131).
Landscape Setting
Located near the western edge of the huge clearing formerly devoted
to orchards and agricultural fields, the John Newhall cottage is in a
relatively open setting that offers sweeping views of the abandoned
MIA landing strip, North Manitou Village, and Lake Michigan (fig-
ures 4.132 and 4.133). The road in front of the cottage is lined with
large, more-or-less evenly-spaced sugar maple trees. Directly west of
the cottage is a small square-plan, hip-roofed structure that was a
wash house. A concrete walkway leads from the backdoor to this
small outbuilding. The wash house is surrounded on the south and
Figure 4.131. Lombardy poplar trees at
the site of the former Newhall cottage,
1996. The Degan family, subsequent
owners of the two Newhall cottages,
allegedly planted the first Lombardy
poplar trees on North Manitou Island at
this site. Lombardy poplars were later
planted at other locations in the village
vicinity, where they remain prominent
landmarks. In some places the original
plantings have expanded to become
dense, monotypic groves.
Figure 4.132. J ohn Newhall cottage, 1996. Removed from the other residences of
North Manitou Village, the former J ohn Newhall cottage occupies a site within the large
agricultural clearing that surrounds the village, perhaps reflecting the initial agricultural
focus of the Newhall's North Manitou business enterprise. The site offers a
commanding view of the village, the Manitou Passage, and the Michigan mainland,
which forms the eastern horizon.
243
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
I A
black cherry U"J
Wfi) —
clothesline poles
KEY
A = Apple
SM = Sugar Maple
S = Spirea
North
Scale
(Approximate)
30'
60'
John Newhall Cottage
Site Plan
FIGURE 4.133
Drawing by Eric MacDonald and Katie Franks
244
Description and Analysis of Individual Sites
east by ornamental shrubs, including a lilac, pink spirea, and rose. It is
shaded by a large black cherry tree located west of the wash house.
Other ornamental vegetation includes a large clump of lilacs located
along the eastern side of the house, and a large spirea shrub at the
southwestern corner of the front porch. A butternut tree and several
apple trees still are found behind the house to the north. Another
cluster of apple trees is situated west of the house, in front (south) of
the large garage/shed. Located farther out to the northwest are poles
that appear to have been set up for clothes lines.
Buildings and Structures
The John Newhall cottage is a one-and-a-half-story, hip-roofed
dwelling with hip-roofed dormers (figure 4.134). Roughly square in
plan, the structure rests on a stone foundation. A porch extends
along much of the southern and eastern elevations. The house is
currently in ruinous condition. There is a large lilac shrub on the
eastern side of the house, and a large bridal wreath spirea at the
southwestern corner. A few feet west of the house is a small, one-
story hip-roofed wash house with two doors that face east. A
concrete walkway leads from the rear door of the cottage to the
wash house. The wash house is surrounded on the southern and
eastern sides by ornamental shrubs: pink spirea, two lilacs, and a
rose. Several yards northwest of the cottage is a large one-story, gable-
front shed. It is clad with asphalt sheathing and wooden battens.
Several apple trees are clustered north of the cottage, as well as
Figure 4.134. J ohn Newhall cottage,
western elevation,1996.
245
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
northwest of the cottage in front of the gable-roofed shed. Large
sugar maple trees line the roadway in front of the house, and also are
found in the yard, along with a rose, a stump, and an old utility pole.
Contributing Landscape Components
clothesline poles butternut tree
utility poles apple trees
concrete walkway lilac shrubs
septic tank (?) spirea shrubs
stump rose shrubs
sugar maple trees
Contributing Structures
Cottage
Structure Number: 53122870
Dimensions: 35'-7" x 34'-8"
Foundation: Stone
Walls: wood clapboard
Roof: hip, asphalt shingles
Wash House
Structure Number: 53122871
Dimensions: 9'-4" x 9'-4"
Foundation: None
Walls: wood drop lap siding
Roof: hip
Garage / shed
Structure Number: 53122872
Dimensions: 16'-6" x 29'-0"
Foundation: none
Walls: asphalt roll siding with
wood battens
Roof: asphalt roll
246
National Register of Historic Places Evaluations
Chapter Five
National Register of
Historic Places
Eligibility
Evaluations
Cultural landscapes represent a complex set of challenges and
opportunities for historic preservationists and cultural resource
managers. A number of problems stem from one very basic at-
tribute: landscapes are generally much bigger, more complex, and
more dynamic than any single building or structure. Both the spatial
and temporal boundaries of a landscape are frequently indistinct.
Decisions about where a particular landscape begins or ends, or
when a landscape's history begins or ends, are inescapably arbitrary
judgments. This does not mean that landscape are wholly unknow-
able, however. One concept that is often evoked in describing
cultural landscapes is that of the palimpsest. Borrowed from the
juridical tradition of ancient Rome, the term originally referred to a
document that had been created, erased, reworked, erased again,
and so forth, so that vestiges of all the previous versions remained
visible, however faint. Likewise, cultural landscapes may be con-
ceived as palimpsests consisting of layers of history that leave
behind discernible, physical attributes that, together, may be under-
stood and "read" like a document.
In addition to a tendency for spatial and temporal ambiguity,
landscapes are dynamic resources that are constantly changing.
Landscapes incorporate living, biotic systems that both embody and
transform them to an extent not typical of architectural resources or
other artifacts. Furthermore, because cultural landscapes often are
the creations of many individuals over several generations, they
incorporate successive layers of history and cultural meaning.
Uncovering the ambiguous (and sometimes conflicting) material and
emotional connections that people have with the land can be a
. .■
247
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
complicated task. Because they are less tangible than other types of
artifacts, considerable effort is required to understand a cultural
landscape, and any single perspective is almost always too narrow to
provide a comprehensive assessment. Landscape simply encom-
passes more stuff — more tangible material, more associative quali-
ties, more organic and physical processes, more time, more sub-
stance. The expansive scale of a cultural landscape must be accom-
modated in terms of both historical scholarship and interpretation,
as well as resource stewardship.
In the United States, the National Park Service (NPS) has
played a leading role in developing approaches to documenting and
analyzing historic cultural landscapes. In particular, the National
Register of Historic Places (NRHP) program has developed guide-
lines and methodologies for inventorying and evaluating several
distinct types of cultural landscapes, including designed landscapes,
rural landscapes, cemeteries, and mining properties, among others.
In evaluating the historical significance of a cultural landscape, NPS
resource managers and other historic preservation professionals
throughout the country generally utilize the evaluation criteria of
the National Register of Historic Places. The National Register is
regarded as the nation's official list of historic properties that are
worthy of preservation. National Register-listed properties may
possess national-, state,- or local-level significance. However, all
properties included in, or determined eligible for inclusion in the
NRHP, are subject to a rigorous process of research, documenta-
tion, and evaluation.
The evaluation criteria utilized by the National Register of
Historic Places represent a well-established, and widely-accepted
conceptual framework for assessing the significance of historic sites
and determining their worthiness for preservation treatments. With
few exceptions, only properties that are at least fifty years old are
considered potentially eligible for inclusion in the NRHP. A
property's significance is conceived as a combination of its associa-
tive value (s) and historical integrity. Four NRHP criteria, summa-
rized below, pertain to a property's associative aspects. These may
be applicable at a number of levels, ranging from national to local
history.
A property's associative values are weighed in relation to its
historical context. The term "context," in this case, refers to the
combination of a property's geographical location, area(s) of signifi-
cance, and its period of significance. An "area of significance" is
analagous to a general historical theme, such as "transportation" or
"agriculture." The NRHP currently recognizes 29 distinct areas of
significance, some of which may be further defined according to
sub-themes. A property's "period of significance" is considered to be
the span of time during which the property was associated with
important events, activities, or persons, or when it acquired signifi-
cant physical or artistic qualities. Information about a property's
248
National Register of Historic Places Evaluations
National Register of Historic Places Associative Criteria
Criterion A Properties that are associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the
broad patterns of our history.
Criterion B Properties that are associated with the lives of persons significant in our past.
Criterion C Properties that embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of
construction or that represent the work of a master, or that possess high artistic values, or that
represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction.
Criterion D Properties that have yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in prehistory
and history.
Source: Department of the Interior, National ParkSeivice.A/at/ona/fieg/ster6u//e(/n26^.'HowfeComp/etetfieA/36'ona/fieg/stBrfieg/sfrafi'on
Form (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Departmentoftlie Interior, National ParkService, 1991).
historical context facilitates comparisons with other, similar proper-
ties. Contemporary data also are useful in developing historical
contexts. For example, a resource that illustrates a once "common-
place" event, or represents an "ordinary" work of design or con-
struction may nonetheless possess historical value if few of its kind
survive today. Such research ultimately allows resource managers to
make informed judgments about the cultural value of a particular
property.
In addition to associative values, the NRHP evaluation
prossess considers the historical integrity of the resource in making
determinations about the property's significance. Historical integrity
is defined to be the degree to which a property retains and exhibits
those characteristics that it possessed when it achieved significance.
Historical integrity is not equivalent to a resource's physical condi-
tion. A property may retain a high degree of historical integrity if all
or most of its historic materials, features and form are extant, even
though its overall current condition may be poor. 1 Integrity is as-
sessed in terms of seven qualities: location, design, setting, materi-
als, workmanship, feeling, and association. 2 An integrity assessment
results from a process of comparing what is known about a
property's past form, physical characteristics, and associative
properties with its current condition. A property's period of signifi-
cance becomes the "benchmark" for measuring such changes. Such
comparison reveals how a property has evolved through time.
Although the retention of some characteristics may be more crucial
than others, a full analysis of a property's historical integrity always
depends upon the availability of reliable historical documentation.
This may take the form of written descriptions, historic photo-
graphs, or extant, physical evidence.
Although the NRHP evaluation criteria and methodology
may be applied to "places" of varying scales, until twenty or thirty
years ago it most often was applied only to buildings, structures, and
1 Charles A. Bimbaum, ed., "with
Christine Capella Peters, The Secretary of
the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of
Historic Properties, with Guidelines for the
Treatment of Cultural Landscapes
(Washington, D.C: U.S. Secretary of the
Interior, National Park Service, 1996), 7.
2 Department of the Interior, National
Park Service, National Register Bulletin
1 6 A: Ho>i> to Complete the "National
Register Registration Form (Washington,
D.C: U.S. Department of the Interior,
National Park Service, 1991).
249
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
3 Robert Z. Melnick, with Daniel Sponn
and Emma Jane Saxe, CulturalLand-
scapes: Rural Historic Districts in the
"National Park System (Washington, D.C.:
U.S. Department of the Interior,
National Park Service, 1984); Linda Flint
McClelland, J. Timothy Keller,
Genevieve P. Keller, and Robert Z.
Melnick, National Register Bulletin 30:
Guidelines for Evaluating and Documenting
Rural Historic Landscapes (Washington,
DC: U.S. Department of the Interior,
National Park Service, 1990).
objects. Even when utilized to evaluate and designate districts, most
of the historical scholarship and analysis was directed toward
architectural resources rather than other landscape elements. During
the 1980s, however, the NRHP initiated an effort to better docu-
ment and protect historic landscapes. One significant step in this
direction was the development of guidelines that specifically inter-
pret the NRHP inventory and evaluation process in terms of land-
scape resources. Documentation of historic vernacular landscapes
was aided by the publication of Robert Z. Melnick's Cultural land-
scapes: Rural Historic Districts in the National Park System in 1984, and
National Register Bulletin 30: Guidelines for Evaluating and Documenting
Rural Historic Landscapes six years later. 3 Bulletin 30 outlines eleven
landscape characteristics that may be used as a schema for reading
and understanding rural cultural landscapes. Four of the characteris-
tics refer to processes: (1) Land Uses and Activities; (2) Patterns of
Spatial Organisation; (3) Response to the Natural Environment, (4)
Cultural traditions. The remaining seven characteristics are physical
elements: (5) Circulation Networks; (6) Boundary Demarcations; (7)
Vegetation Related to Land Use; (8) Buildings, Stmctures, and Objects; (9)
Clusters {i.e., groups of buildings or other features); (10) Archeological
Sites; (1 1) Small-scale Elements. Thus, the bulletin not only outlines a
classification system and a means for collecting and organizing data;
it also presents a methodology for understanding a complex land-
scape by conceptually reducing it into comprehensible elements, and
then considering the landscape as a unified whole by linking various
on-going processes with physical components.
The NRHP evaluation guidelines, as given in Bulletin 30,
may be applied to landscapes of varying spatial scales. For example,
the entire North Manitou Island landscape may be analyzed using
the eleven characteristics listed above. In fact, analysis at a larger
geographical scale is essential to understanding smaller, more
discrete landscapes. In gaining a larger, macro view, however, fine-
grain details are incomprehensible or altogether lost. To obtain a
more complete understanding of the landscape, it is necessary to
conceptualize the island as a composite of many smaller, more-or-
less distinct landscapes. These could be conceived as "component
landscapes" — integral pieces of the larger cultural landscape of
North Manitou Island. For example, one might consider the Adam
and Mary Maleski farm or the area around "Old Baldy" to be
landscapes that possess physical and associative qualities that
distinguish them from other parts of the island. Many of these
component landscapes could, in turn, be broken down into even
smaller landscape units, until, finally we are left with individual
landscape elements, such as a dune, a garden space, a building, or a
fence post.
Although every cultural landscape has a history, not every
landscape possesses a high degree of historical significance. Histori-
cal research performed in tandem with landscape documentation
250
National Register of Historic Places Evaluations
Definitions Used by the National Park Service for Documenting,
Evaluating, and Developing Treatments for Cultural Landscapes
Feature - the smallest element(s) of a landscape that contributes to the significance and that can be
the subject of a treatment intervention. Examples include a woodlot, hedge, lawn, specimen plant,
allee, house, meadow or open field, fence, wall, earthwork, pond or pool, bollard, orchard, or
agricultural terrace.
Historic character- the sum of all visual aspects, features, materials, and spaces associated with a
cultural landscape's history, i.e. the original configuration together with losses and later changes.
These qualities are often referred to as character-defining.
Character-defining Feature- a prominent or distinctive aspect, quality, or character of a cultural
landscape that contributes significantly to its physical character. Land use patterns, vegetation,
furnishings, decorative details and materials may be such features.
Integrity - the authenticity of a property's historic identity, evinced by the survival of physical
characteristics that existed during the property's historic or prehistoric period. The seven qualities of
integrity as defined by the National Register Program are location, setting, feeling, association,
design, workmanship, and materials.
Significance - the meaning or value ascribed to a cultural landscape based on the National Register
criteria for evaluation. It normally stems from a combination of association and integrity.
Treatment- work carried out to achieve a particular historic preservation goal.
SOU RCE: Secretary of the Interior, 'The Secretary of the Interior's Standards fortheTreatmentof Historic Properties, with Guidelines for the
Treatmentof Cultural Landscapes"(Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 1996).
and evaluation, in the manner described in Bulletin 30, aim to
identify those landscapes that represent certain cultural values and
retain historical integrity. Ultimately, however, determining a
landscape's historical significance is a matter of interpretation.
Because our view of history is constantly changing, as is the mate-
rial world in which we live, our assessment of a resource's historical
significance can never be truly objective, free of cultural bias and
independent of the current political and social climate. The dy-
namic, malleable nature of historical interpretation is a particularly
vexing problem for resource managers who often seek objective,
conclusive decisions about the treatment of a property. Given the
subjective nature of historical interpretation, however, this quan-
dary seems unavoidable. Methodological frameworks such as those
represented by the National Register of Historic Places provide a
basis for consensus. Nonetheless, historical scholarship must remain
an on-going component of resource management, and treatment
plans must be flexible enough to accommodate future changes in
historical interpretation and cultural resource management philoso-
phy. Complex resources, such as the cultural landscapes of North
Manitou Island, accommodate, and often demand, more expansive,
more inclusive histories, and more liberal treatment approaches.
251
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 5.1. The island shoreline has
influenced patterns of culture-nature
interactions, which are expressed in the
environmentas coastal prehistoric
occupation sites, clearings, relictdocks and
wharves, and remnantfishing camps. The
margin between land and water is both a
physical and a perceptual boundary.
Evaluation of North Manitou Island
In terms of the classic definition articulated by geographer Carl O.
Sauer, all of North Manitou Island is indeed a cultural landscape.
Even the wildest, most remote parts of the island have been im-
pacted in some fashion by past human activities. In some places, the
imprint of humanity may be slight, while in other instances the
evidence may be masked by the passage of time. All of the island's
landscapes have a history that includes both human and non-human
nature.
Because it is relatively small and geographically isolated, the
entire landscape of North Manitou Island easily can be conceptual-
ized as a totality. The shoreline of the island — the line where water
and land meet — represents a distinct boundary that is both physical
and perceptual, demarcating both geographic space and human
comprehension of the landscape as a distant place (figure 5.1). The
shoreline likewise circumscribes a tightly-bounded setting for human
activities and social interactions. Landscape and community in such
a setting are so intertwined that they must be considered in tandem,
as equal components of a locality that has a potent and unique
identity. Consequently, any evaluation of the island's history and its
historic landscapes must be highly self-referential, perhaps more so
than in other geographic contexts. In other words, individual events
must be considered first in relation to the context of the island's
history, as well as in relation to the historical context of the larger
252
National Register of Historic Places Evaluations
Figure 5.2. Manitou Island Association map
of North Manitou Island, ca. 1940s,
showing the geographical relationship
between natural and cultural features. The
photo basemap emphasizes the shoreline
as a spatial boundary.
Sleeping Bear Dunes region. The island itself becomes the primary,
or most basic, geographic scale for assessing the importance of
persons and events in the history of the island as a human commu-
nity and as a landscape. Essentially, the island serves as the basis for
determining "local" significance.
As suggested above, the shoreline of North Manitou Island
is, perhaps, its most important physical feature (figure 5.2). Some of
the island's most distinctive plant and wildlife habitats occur along
the shoreline ecotone. In addition to functioning as a natural bound-
ary or verge, the shoreline was the single physical feature that most
influenced human settlement on North Manitou. As the interface
between land and water, nodes of connection between the island
and the Michigan mainland were necessarily located along this line.
As a result, human settlement and development were most intensive
around the perimeter of the island, where island settlers at various
times constructed docks, wharves, wooding stations, fishing shan-
253
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
im ir.,i- tin,>v *
Figure 5.3. Narrow-gauge rail spurthat
connected the lumbertown of C rescentwith
the forested interiorof northern North
Manitou Island, ca. 1908. The historic
railroad grade survives today, utilized as a
foottrail by hikers and backpackers.
Figure 5.4. Atfirstglance, the vast
hardwoods forests of North Manitou Island
appearto be "untouched"by pasthuman
activities. However, close examination ofthe
forestvegetation suggests the relative youth
of many ofthe island's wooded areas. Less
subtle clues also abound, such as the large
stumps found in some areas ofthe forests,
which eloquently attestto the island's legacy
of intensive timber harvesting.
ties, and navigation aids. Settlement was concentrated in three
general areas: North Manitou Village on the eastern side of the
island, the Crescent vicinity on the western side of the island, and
the southeastern tip, which was the initial locus of Euro-American
settlement, and subsequently the location of the U.S. government
lighthouse and the area where most of the island's agricultural
homesteads were clustered. These shoreline nodes were connected
to interior farmsteads and features such as Lake Manitou by a
network of roads and trails. The primary road system was a loop
that roughly circumnavigated the island, following the shoreline and
thus reinforcing its role in organizing geographic space and directing
movement through the landscape.
The interior of the island was developed less intensively
than the shoreline nodes, although it was no less modified by human
activities. Much of the interior landscape remained as forest land,
although the woods were successively logged for over a century.
Significant portions of the island's interior were stripped intermit-
tently of much of their forest vegetation, and then allowed to
recover. Historically, logging may have been the most important
economic enterprise on North Manitou Island. Certainly it was the
human activity that lasted for the longest period of time: the North
Manitou forests first attracted white settlers to the island, and
sustained the Angell Foundation's operations long after agriculture
had been abandoned and recreation had proven unprofitable.
Logging may have permanently altered the composition of the
island's forest vegetation. Timber harvesting also left its impact on
the island's landscape in the remains of the Crescent lumber camp, a
relict railroad grade, several smaller camps, and an extensive net-
work of logging trails, much of which is now fading as small trees
and saplings fill in the linear gaps that wend through the woods
(figures 5.3 and 5.4). Today, most of the island landscape remains
densely forested, a spectacular expanse of sugar maple and Ameri-
254
National Register of Historic Places Evaluations
can beech forest that stretches over "pleasantly rolling" terrain. This
shady, park-like woodland is interrupted only infrequently by a few
large, sunny clearings — the remnant landscapes of agriculture on
North Manitou.
In contrast to South Manitou Island and the mainland,
agriculture on North Manitou was characteristically large-scale and
highly-organized. In the case of Nicholas Pickard's large farm on the
eastern side, the Crescent farm, and Peter Stormer's farm, agricul-
ture was undertaken primarily to sustain lumbering activities (figure
5.5). Frederic Beuham's apple orchard and the Manitou Island
Association's cherry orchards near North Manitou Village represent
large-scale, commercial ventures. A different pattern characterized
farming at the southeastern tip of the island. The homesteads
clustered there were mostly small-scale farms that were owned and
worked by single men or individual families. None of these home-
steads, it seems, progressed much beyond subsistence agriculture.
The largest and most extensively developed farm at the southern
end of the island, that of Avar and Mary Bournique, functioned
primarily as a private resort ranch. At the opposite end of the island,
however, the Maleski family managed to survive on the production
of their small farm and the income they received from selling a few
commodities to other North Manitou families and summer resort
residents.
Figure 5.5. The provenance of this large
log barn is unknown. A structure of this size
would have been beyond the means and
requirements ofthe island's immigrant
homesteaders. The scale ofthe barn, as
well as the massive timbers that make up
the lower portion ofthe structure, suggest
thatthis building may have been builtby
one ofthe logging camp operators, perhaps
even Nicholas Pickard. The barn may
have been on the island during the late
1890s, however its former location is
unknown. Like many ofthe myriad
agricultural structures builton North Manitou
Island overa period of nearly a century,
this immense building has vanished from the
island landscape.
255
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 5.6. In addition to the deer herd
itself, several ramshackle blinds scattered
throughoutthe island's forests representee
island's history as a commercial "deer
ranch"and a recreational landscape foran
elite class of sportsmen. Many of the blinds,
like this one, were former privies thatthe
Manitou Island Association moved from
abandoned home sites to various locales in
the woods.
Although it was less extensive, the impact of farming on the
North Manitou landscape may be more obvious to the casual
observer than that of logging. The ecological effects of logging
were drastic and long-lasting Intensive logging was cyclical, and
periodically altered the vegetation composition in ways that eventu-
ally were masked after relict saplings and pioneer tree species
reclaimed the cut-over areas. Following a period of intensive timber
harvesting, logged lands were abandoned and allowed to return to
deciduous forest, assuming a spatial and visual character similar to
that which had existed previously. Farming, however, not only
altered the vegetation composition of once-forested areas, but also
transformed the spatial qualities of the landscape, neatly defining
spaces and creating distinct edges and boundary demarcations with
land uses, vegetation, fences, and buildings.
Today, large clearings remain scattered throughout the
forests that cover most of the island. Generally, these clearings are
clustered in the vicinity of North Manitou Village, at the southern
end of the island, and near the Crescent townsite. Three large,
distinct clearings remain in the east-central portion of the island,
linked by a former road segment that connects with roadways
leading to the eastern shore and Lake Manitou. The former fields of
the Maleski family are the only relict agricultural landscapes in the
northern portion of the island. In a sense, even the dense forest that
encloses these spaces is part of an agricultural landscape, since
several island farmers, including Silas Boardman, the Newhalls, the
Manitou Island Syndicate, and the Maleskis, used the woods for
grazing cattle. Later, the island's second- and third-growth forests,
as well as its abandoned agricultural clearings, served a vital func-
tion in the MIA's "deer ranching" venture (figure 5.6).
Management of North Manitou Island as a recreational
wilderness, a process that began during the 1920s with the forma-
tion of the Manitou Island Association, purposefully erased much
256
National Register of Historic Places Evaluations
evidence of past agricultural activities from the landscape. How-
ever, many subtle clues — and a few tangible reminders — do remain.
Many of the island's relict agricultural landscapes are highly frag-
mented and spatially scattered. The vestiges range in scale from vast
clearings of more than a hundred acres, to small elements such as a
wooden fence post and a length of barbed wire. Between these
extremes are huge barns, house foundations, orchards, and wind-
breaks.
The clearings are, perhaps, the most striking relict agricul-
tural features on the island (figure 5.7). Their spatial integrity is, a
bit ironically, meticulously maintained by the North Manitou deer
herd. The clearings serve a vital function in maintaining diversity
and interest in the larger island landscape. Scattered throughout the
patchwork of clearings and woodland edges, is remnant cultural
vegetation, such as apple and pear trees. The most extensive historic
vegetation feature is the huge relict apple orchard planted by
Frederic Beuham and the Stark Bros. Nursery and Orchard Co.
around the end of the nineteenth century. Another noteworthy
utilitarian vegetation feature is the cottonwood windbreak at the
Bournique farm. Examples of ornamental vegetation remain as
well — roses and spirea at the Maleski farm, and lilacs (Syringa
vulgaris, var.) and sugar maples (Acer saccharum) at the Bournique
residence. Most of the structures no longer exist or are in ruinous
condition, the Manitou Island Association farm being the most
intact complex of farm structures remaining on the island. With the
F igure 5.7. Agricultural clearing associated
with the town of Crescentand the west-side
farm ofthe Manitou Island Association.
Although mostof the agricultural clearings
thatexisted on the island when the M IA
introduced white tailed deer retain good
spatial integrity, trees and shrubs are slowly
gaining a foothold in some areas.
257
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
exception of the Alvar and Mary Bournique residence, none of the
houses built by homesteaders remain intact, and none of the barns
built by homesteaders survive. In fact, the only intact, agricultural
structure owned by an individual, private farmer is a small corncrib
on the Bournique farm. This makes the island's surviving, intact
farm structures all the more valuable.
4 For more detailed historical and
descriptive information, see Chapter
Four.
258
The following text represents a National Register of Historic
Places evaluation of the remnant agricultural properties on North
Manitou Island. 4 North Manitou Village is presented as a composite
of three distinct districts. Following a brief overview, each district is
discussed individually. Subsequent sections deal with the island's
other agricultural and agriculture-related districts and resource. The
applicable period(s) of significance, level(s) of significance, and
NRHP criteria and historical context(s) are cited at the beginning of
each section. The discussion generally follows the evaluation
framework outlined in the beginning of this chapter. Management
recommendations for several of the following properties are pre-
sented in chapter six.
National Register of Historic Places Evaluations
Historic Properties on
North Manitou Island
North Manitou Village
Situated near the center of Section 34, T32N R14W, the North
Manitou Village area is the location of the most intensive and
continuous human settlement on the island (figure 5.8). The site
was the location of one of Nicholas Pickard's wooding stations, and
probably served as the headquarters of his wood cutting operation
during the 1860s and early 1870s. At least a portion of the large
clearing that currently surrounds the village may date from the
extensive farm that supported Pickard's wooding enterprise. 5 Ever
since the construction of Pickard's wooding dock, the village has
functioned as the center of North Manitou Island's economic and
social life. In terms of its longevity and historical associations, it is
the most important node of human settlement on the island.
The centrality of North Manitou village was reinforced by
the construction of a life-boat station there in 1877. The U.S. Life-
saving Service station subsequently expanded and evolved into a
U.S. Coast Guard station, an entity that formed the nucleus of the
village (figure 5.9). The station played an important role in the
economic and social life of the island from the late nineteenth
century into the 1930s.
During the mid-1 880s, Silas Boardman established a large
stock farm not far from the life-saving service station, once again
making the village an important center of agricultural activity.
Boardman maintained the village dock, and later was instrumental
in developing the island as a resort. Friends and members of the
Boardman family organized Cottage Row in 1894, and a flourishing
resort culture developed at the village during late 1890s and early
1900s. After the Newhall family took possession of Boardman's
Figure 5.8. Aerial view of North Manitou
Village, winter 1994.
5 Pickard operated a 400-acre farm in
1860. Pickard's first dock and wharf,
established in the 1840s, "were located at
the southeastern end of the island. It is
not known when he built the northern
dock, although he purchased the land in
Section 34,T32N, R14Wm 1849. It is
reasonable to assume that the timber
supply at the southeastern tip may have
been depleted by 1860, and that Pickard
may have moved his headquarters to the
northern site by then. Pickard's farm "was
still functioning in 1870. When the U.S.
Life Saving Service "was established seven
years later, it "was located at the village,
not at the southeastern site, suggesting
that the village site "was then the hub of
activity on the island; it seems likely that
Pickard's farm also "was located nearby.
259
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 5.9. The U.S. Life Saving Station
complex, which expanded significantly
during the second half of the nineteenth
century, formed the core of North Manitou
Village.
North Manitou property, they also used the village as their head-
quarters, promoting the island as an exclusive resort, and engaging
in large-scale fruit production (figure 5.10). When the Manitou
Island Syndicate emerged in the early 1920s, it too was headquar-
tered at the village. A few years later, as the Manitou Island Asso-
ciation (AHA), this organization of Chicago businessmen con-
structed a new cluster of farm buildings and established extensive
cherry orchards in the cleared lands surrounding the village. The
MIA eventually acquired most of the Cottage Row properties and
the buildings of the U.S. Coast Guard station, thus transforming the
village into a small "company town."
Each of the four principal themes that explain the growth of
North Manitou Village — logging, agriculture, maritime commerce,
and recreation — are represented by elements that persist in the
cultural landscape. Considered together, these resources portray the
evolution of the village from the mid-1850s through the present.
The current landscape, like those that preceded it, reveals its history
as a remote maritime outpost, as a source of timber and lumber, as a
commercial farming center, and as a quiet, exclusive resort commu-
nity. Yet the juxtaposition of these elements, which represented
different themes and times, presents a narrative of the landscape's
evolution. This narrative is expressed through traces of former
roadways, relict vegetation, and buildings and structures, including
both those that are sinking in ruin and others that remain standing.
Previous land uses and historical associations, such as the farms of
Nicholas Pickard and Silas Boardman, have been almost completely
obliterated and replaced with newer, more recent landscapes. The
landscape today is never exactly as it was at any time in the past,
and the transformative processes of nature guarantee that it is now
as it never will be in the future.
260
National Register of Historic Places Evaluations
The landscapes and groupings of buildings that currently
comprise the North Manitou Village area survive with varying
degrees of historical integrity. Nonetheless, the intensity and lon-
gevity of human activity at this location — and the fact that its
history is still evident — make the narrative an important one. This is
one of the most interesting, significant, and complex landscapes on
the island. The core village landscape — the area where buildings and
other cultural landscape features are concentrated — can be divided
conceptually into three more-or-less distinct component landscapes,
or districts (Fig. 5.11). These are differentiated primarily in terms of
historical associations, land uses, spatial organization, and building
types. The three districts are: (1) Manitou Island Association Village
Farm Complex, located north and west of the life-saving service
and Cottage Row; (2) U.S. Life-Saving Service, located along the
lakeshore at the center of the village, and (3) Cottage Row, located
west and southwest of the life-saving service.
The boundaries of these districts are not expressed sharply
in the landscape, although they are generally suggested by the
spatial arrangement of buildings and vegetation. Precise boundaries
are provided for the overall extent of the developed land area and,
within this area, by the historic property lines that legally defined
the parcels upon which the three districts evolved. These compo-
nent landscapes should be conceived as parts of a larger whole. As
depicted in figure 5.11, the three districts are contiguous, compris-
ing the core of the historic village area and the expanse of cleared
land that surrounds it. Although they are distinct in terms of material
form and provenance, they nonetheless evolved in concert with one
another, and constitute a larger historic artifact.
Figure 5.10. Perhaps since the mid-
nineteenth century, North Manitou Village
served as headquarters of the island's
largestagricultural operations. This view of
the northern portion of the village was taken
when the Newhall family and their
associates controlled the village farm and
much of the resortdevelopmentknown as
Cottage Row.
261
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
road to
Frederic Beuham
orchard
orchard workers' cabins
Manitou Island
Association
farm complex
historic dock
location
NPS dock
U.S. Coast Guard
station
Manitou Island Association
Village Farm Historic District
Cottage Row Historic District
U.S. Life-saving Service Station National Historic Landmark
Scale q 200' 40 1
100' 300'
North
North Manitou Village
Recommended Historic District Boundaries
FIGURE 5.11
Drawing by Eric MacDonald
262
National Register of Historic Places Evaluations
■'. ' #1, -'
* ■ :'. n- ..- . ft,
t
i
*&€ii' ■ if
-«■***>
Figure 5.12. U.S. Department of
Agriculture aerial photograph of the
North Manitou Village area, 1938. The
size and shape of the agricultural
clearing surrounding the village has
changed little since this photograph was
taken.
Manitou Island Syndicate / Manitou Island
Association North Manitou Village Farm Complex
Period of Significance: 1927-1950
NRHP Criteria: A, C
Level of Significance: Local 6
The Manitou Island Association dominated island life begin-
ning in the late 1920s. Following the closure of the North Manitou
U.S. Coast Guard station, the MIA was the largest employer on the
island. From its inception, the AHA controlled most of the land area
of the island, and it continued to expand its landholdings to make
North Manitou a "company island." The economy of the island
centered on the activities of the AHA, which in turn dramatically
altered the entire landscape of North Manitou Island, from the
abandoned farmsteads of nineteenth-century homesteaders, to the
6 As a 'whole, the district is significant
in terms of the historical context of
North Manitou Island. The MIA
sawmill, "which is part of the district, is
a unique resource "within Michigan, and
probably possesses state -level
historical significance. In addition, the
district should be compared "with
similar corporate farming ventures in
Michigan to determined "whether it
possess a state level of significance.
263
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
flora and fauna of the island's vast forests. No other extant resource
so fully represents the nature, scale and scope of the MIA's business
ventures on North Manitou Island. Furthermore, no other district
within the boundaries of Sleeping Bear Dunes so well represents
corporate agriculture and large-scale fruit production during the
early twentieth century. This particular context is all the more
important when one considers the significance of this type of
agriculture to the present economy and regional identity of north-
western lower Michigan.
The Manitou Island Syndicate / Manitou Island Association
North Manitou Village Farm Complex encompasses the portion of
North Manitou Village that served as the base of the Manitou
Island Association's agriculture, logging, and recreation opera-
tions — it is the "working landscape" of the village. It borders the
Cottage Row Historic District and the North Manitou Island Life-
saving Station National Historic Landmark District to the south and
east, and includes the vast clearing that surrounds the nucleus of
the village. It is probable that the village has been surrounded by a
large expanse of cleared land since its founding in the mid-nine-
teenth century. If Nicholas Pickard's North Manitou farm encom-
passed 200 acres of improved land, as he claimed in 1870, then
much, if not all, of the existing cleared land surrounding the village
likely dates from his agricultural operation of the mid-1 850s
through the early-1870s. Pickard's improved acreage no doubt was
utilized by its subsequent owners, Silas Boardman and the Newhalls.
During the late 1920s, the Manitou Island Association developed
much of the clearing as its principal cherry orchards. When the
island's resident workforce declined during the 1930s, the MIA built
a cluster of small wooden cabins at the northeastern edge of the
clearing to serve as temporary housing for migrant workers during
cherry harvests. Other portions of the clearing were used for agri-
cultural crops, pasture, and the MIA airstrip.
The cleared land around North Manitou Village thus repre-
sents the continuity and importance of agriculture at the village for
nearly a century. Unfortunately, this portion of the district also
retains a lower level of historical integrity. Neither the precise
location of Pickard's farmstead, nor its spatial configuration is
currently known. Traces of Pickard's farm probably were obliterated
by the subsequent agricultural activities of Silas Boardman, the
Newhalls, and the MIA.
Historic aerial photographs suggest that the clearing prob-
ably retains spatial integrity {i.e., size, edges, and shape) from the
AHA era (1927-1950); however, land uses and vegetation have
changed significantly (figure 5.12). The MIA airstrip and hangar were
removed by the National Park Service, and are only barely evident in
the landscape today. In accordance with state regulations, the Angell
Foundation removed the cherry trees soon after it ceased fruit pro-
duction on the island. A small, remnant butternut (Juplans dnerea)
264
National Register of Historic Places Evaluations
Figure 5.13. The MIA sawmill represents
an important theme in North Manitou
Island's human history, and is a rare, intact
example of a steam-powered lumbermill in
Michigan.
grove survives north of Cottage Row along the road that connects
the former village dock with Lake Manitou. In addition, a few relict
apple trees exist at the northern edge of the clearing, along with four
of the original cherry pickers' cabins, all of which now are structural
ruins. Fences, if they existed, have been removed. Still, this expansive
clearing serves an important function in defining the landscape setting
for the village. Historic land use patterns are discernible in the vicinity
of the former airstrip, where dead trees and stumps convey the
planting pattern of the old orchards. The area continues to convey a
sense of the scale of agricultural activities at the village, and retains
the general open character of cultivated land, which is an essential
characteristic of agricultural landscapes.
The farm structures used by the AHA are clustered north of
the life-saving service station and cottage row. All of the structures
in the district were built by the Manitou Island Association, with the
exception of the Campbell House, and perhaps one or two other
sheds that were moved by the AHA from nearby sites. The district's
pivotal structures are the MIA sawmill and the large, gambrel-roofed
village barn (figures 5.13 and 5.14). Although the AHA never en-
gaged in intensive commercial lumber production at its sawmill, the
structure nonetheless represents the importance of historic logging
activities on North Manitou Island. No other resource associated
with timber harvesting and processing on North Manitou retains a
comparable level of historical integrity. Furthermore, the structure,
which is constructed of materials salvaged from Peter Stormer's
former mill and perhaps other sources, is itself part of the island's
logging-era legacy. The mill possesses additional significance as the
only steam-powered sawmill in the state of Michigan that retains all
of its original equipment. 7
The Manitou Island Association barn, built in 1927, is the
most physically impressive structure in the district. Due to its large
size, shiny metal roof, and its situation on the crest of the beach
7 William Herd, personal communica-
tion.
265
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 5.14. The Manitou Island
Association barn is the largest and most
visually prominentstructure in North
Manitou Village.
8 Hemalata C. Dandekar, Robert M.
Darvis and Eric Allen MacDonald,
Structural Preservation and Adaptive Reuse
of Michigan Barns (Lansing, Mich.:
Michigan Department of State, 1992).
ridge, the barn is a prominent landmark, visible from almost any
position within the village vicinity. The barn is an excellent example
of plank truss construction, a structural system common in Michi-
gan during the early and mid-twentieth century 8 With the addition
of multi-level storage lofts for cherries, and a cold storage locker for
venison, the structure was adapted to accommodate the peculiari-
ties of the MIA's commercial agriculture and recreation ventures.
Constructed mostly of local materials, the structure reflects the
singularity of its location and its historical context.
The historical integrity of other structures in the district has
suffered most substantially due to purposeful neglect, as intended in
the North Manitou Island Development Concept Plan prepared by
the NPS in 1987. The most unfortunate losses are the machine shed
and carpenter shop, both of which were structurally sound in 1979.
These structures served vital functions in the seasonal and daily
activities of the MIA and the village community. In addition, they
served an important spatial function in defining the edge of the
complex and delimiting the edge of the road.
The MIA equipment shed is another structure that plays a
vital role in defining outdoor spaces within the farm complex. This
structure is more visually prominent than the carpenter and machine
shops, and defines the barnyard and a courtyard, or "farm equip-
ment yard." In 1996 the original equipment shed was removed by
the NPS and replaced by a new building. Although the original
structure is no longer extant, the exterior of the new building
duplicates the appearance of the historic equipment shed. The new
structure also was erected precisely on the site of the historic shed,
thus preserving its function as the boundary between barnyard and
equipment yard.
The new equipment shed was constructed as part of an
alternative energy project on North Manitou Island. A photovoltaic
266
National Register of Historic Places Evaluations
(PV) array was constructed in the district in 1996. Located downhill
from the beach ridge, south of the equipment shed and below the
carpenter and machine shop ruins, the PV array is a modern, utilitar-
ian structure of concrete, metal, PVC plastic, and other synthetic
materials. The facility is visually incongruous with the historic
landscape that surrounds it. However, it is partially screened from
direct view by vegetation and topography, and its utilitarian purpose
is consistent with the historical function of the farm complex.
The resources of the Manitou Island Syndicate / Manitou
Island Association Farm Complex district, including the clearing and
cluster of utilitarian agricultural structures, represent the scope of
the MIA's economic activities on the island. Taken as a whole, no
other resource so well represents the influence that the AHA had on
the history and landscape of the island. Although it is situated
amidst a remote island "wilderness," the AHA village farm repre-
sents an opportunity to preserve and interpret an important early
twentieth-century remnant of what are certainly three of the most
significant human activities that have shaped (and continue to
shape) the landscape of the Sleeping Bear Dunes Region: lumbering,
recreation, and commercial fruit production.
North Manitou Island Life-saving Station
Period of Significance: 1854-1932
NRHP Criteria: A, C
Level of Significance: National
The life-saving service played an important role in the
economy of North Alanitou Island. The government jobs associated
with the station represented a reliable source of cash income flow-
ing into the island economy. Young men from several island farm
families took jobs with the U.S. Coast Guard. In addition, the crew
and their families provided a local market for agricultural commodi-
ties produced on the island. The station also represented a small
labor market for chores traditionally undertaken by women, such as
washing, sewing, cleaning and canning. The station crew provided
the island with fire protection, first-aid, and police services, and also
served as a vital communication link with the mainland and the
outside world, and as a center of island social life.
The historic district contains the buildings and landscape
features associated with the evolution of the life-saving station on
North Alanitou Island, beginning with the construction of the
volunteer rescue station in 1854, through 1932, the last year that
the station operated with a full-time crew (figure 5.15). The pivotal
resource within the complex is the Volunteer Rescue Station, built in
1854, and now considered to be the only example of this building
type remaining in the country. 9 The North Alanitou Island U.S. Life-
saving Service Station complex was designated a National Historic
Landmark on 6 August 1998.
9 William Herd and Kimberly Mann,
"North Manitou Island Life-saving
Station," National Register of Historic
Places Registration Form, 1994,
Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore, Empire, Mich.
267
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 5.15. The North Manitou Island
U.S. Life-saving Service Station complex
became a National Historic Landmark in
1998. Because of its location nearthe shore
and the NPS dock, the district is a visually
prominent historic landscape.
The boundaries and other significant features of the district
are depicted in figure 5.16. The buildings are oriented toward the
lake, and are arranged linearly along a stretch of sandy beach.
Historic photographs of the area suggest that buildings in the
vicinity of the station were highly mobile. The Hans Halseth House,
for example, originally was built a considerable distance from its
current site near the northern edge of the district. Nevertheless, the
existing spatial arrangement of the district has remained unchanged
since the early 1930s when the U.S. Coast Guard abandoned the
station.
The eastern edge of the core of the complex is bounded
spatially by a concrete retaining wall dating from the 1890s. Indi-
vidual buildings are connected to one another by a network of
concrete walkways built in 1905. Small-scale elements include
concrete lookout tower abutments, a storm tower and flag locker,
and a capstan. Several large Lombardy poplar (Populus nigra) trees in
the district date from the coast guard era. Other ornamental vegeta-
tion, including copses of black locust (JLobinia pseudoacaria) trees,
Norway maple (Acerplantanoides) trees, lilac and spirea shrubs, and
oriental poppies, were added to the property by the Manitou Island
Association or the Angell Foundation.
The resources that comprise this district represent the evolu-
tion of the Life-saving Service on the Great Lakes, from its earliest
268
National Register of Historic Places Evaluations
o
o
*&"'
..•\\°.v--
O
O W A*'"5
KEY
historic district boundary
Michigan
Scale ^^^^
(Approximate) I^^mbb^^^™! North
50' 100'
North Manitou Island U. S. Life-saving Service
Complex National Historic Landmark
FIGURE 5.16
Drawing by Eric MacDonald
269
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 5.16. The U.S. Life Saving
Service and Cottage Row's summer
residents infused the relatively isolated
North Manitou Island economy with
cash, and linked the island with the
larger regional economy. Many year-
round residents, especially women and
children, earned cash wages by
performing domestic chores such as
washing, cleaning, and cooking.
10 The property's association "with
William Angell (criterion B) primarily
applies to the "Monte Carlo" cottage,
"which Angell used as his island
residence. Criterion B applies, perhaps,
not to the entire district, but only to
that particular resource.
11 The Cottage Row Historic District
clearly appears to meet the NRHP
criteria at the local level of signifi-
cance. However, the district may be
additionally significant within the
northern Great Lakes Region and the
nation. Such an evaluation must
consider other extant resources within
the region, a task outside the scope of
this study. The 1894 cottages of
Cottage Row are part of the National
Maritime Initiative Landscape District,
"which is currently proposed by the
NPS for the national level of signifi-
cance. The period of significance for
the district probably "would be 1894-
1926, prior to the organization of the
MIA. The MIA period of significance
"would begin at 1926 and end circa
1950.
beginnings into the Coast Guard era. No other station on the Great
Lakes represents such a broad span of maritime history. For this
reason, the North Manitou Island Life-saving Station recently was
designated a National Historic Landmark.
Cottage Row
Period of Significance: 1894-1950
Criteria: A, B, 10 C
Level of Significance: State or National 11
Much like the North Manitou life-saving service station, the
resort development known as Cottage Row played a peripheral role
in the history of agriculture on the island. The cottage and hotel
owners and their guests represented a much-needed local market for
agricultural commodities. The summer colony and hotels of North
Manitou Village provided cash income to the Maleski family and
other North Manitou farm families who sold dairy products and
fresh fruits and vegetables to Cottage Row residents and guests. The
summer hotels also were a source of off-farm employment, espe-
cially for women and children (figure 5.16). The primary significance
of the district, however, is its association with use of the island for
recreation, its ties with Chicago and Great Lakes commerce, and its
regional importance as an example of late nineteenth-century resort
cottage developments (figures 5.17 and 5.18).
Cottage Row was the island's only speculative resort enter-
prise, the first of subsequent efforts to turn the island into an exclu-
270
National Register of Historic Places Evaluations
Nc.iniMvNvrou cm<mv4
sive retreat. The scheme of individually-owned cottages supported by
a communal kitchen and dining facility exemplifies a type of resort
development that was common during the nineteenth century. It
represents a broad trend in recreation on the Great Lakes region, the
history of which largely has been lost due to changes in life styles and
economics. Besides being a distinctive type of development, several of
the cottages are architecturally significant. Regardless of any possible
association with architect Frank Lloyd Wright, the Trude, Foote, and
"Monte Carlo" cottages are based on a vernacular plan that is ex-
tremely uncommon in the Upper Midwest. How the dog-trot plan got
from the Mississippi Delta region to northern Michigan may always
remain a mystery. The fact that these buildings were constructed with
materials recycled from the Chicago World's Columbian Exposition
of 1893, adds additional regional significance.
Other Cottage Row structures possess architectural distinc-
tion. The significance of the Katie Shepard Hotel, a good example
of a small, shingle-style hotel building, was acknowledged in 1987.
In addition, the Alford's choice of a Sears & Roebuck cottage
represents a pragmatic solution to a situation where materials, skill,
and social connections may have been limiting factors. It also
represents the growth of mass-produced and mass-marketed housing
products, in contrast to the other carpenter-built cottages of the
district. In terms of design and provenance, North Manitou Island's
Gulf Coast dog-trot cottages are architectural enigmas that should
be preserved, researched further, and made accessible to the public
through an interpretive program, at the very least. The Monte Carlo
cottage may be the best example of this plan (figure 5.19). The
Figure 5.17. The passenger ship
Puritan docked at the North Manitou
Village pier, ca. 1900. Steamers such
as the Puritan connected the island with
Chicago and other mainland cities, and
made use of the island as a resort
feasible.
Figure 5.18. Resorters enjoy a stroll on
the boardwalk, ca. 1900. Cottage Row
was a landscape of recreation and
pleasure. It represents a distinctive
nineteenth-century resort type, and is a
significant component of a larger historic
maritime landscape.
271
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 5.19. In addition to important
historical associations, most of the intact
structures of Cottage Row possess
architectural significance. They should be
stabilized, rehabilitated, and interpreted.
Monte Carlo cottage has additional significance due to its association
with William Angell. An important business man, Angell represents
the age of the "captains of industry," and the ascendancy of the
automobile industry in Michigan and the Midwest.
The boundaries of the proposed Cottage Row Historic
District correspond to those of the subdivision platted by W. O.
Greene in 1894, plus the lot occupied by the Monte Carlo cottage
and the site of the former MIA lodge (figure 5.20). The district
includes the Katie Shepard Hotel, which was determined to be
individually eligible in 1987, in addition to the nine other parcels
that were part of the original development, along with their associ-
ated cultural features. Unfortunately, the integrity of this district
also has declined since implementation of the 1987 North Manitou
Island Development Concept Plan/Interpretive Prospectus, which
calls for the removal of all of Cottage Row's buildings and struc-
tures. The most unfortunate recent loss is the summer home that
once was owned by two of Cottage Row's developers, George and
Carrie Blossom. The oldest building in the district, the Blossoms'
"Tanglewood" is now a ruin that occupies a prime lot near the
center of Cottage Row. The district's most peculiar structure, the
Margaret (Rhoades) and Roderick Peattie "tree house," also is on
the verge of ruin. However, the majority of the district's remaining
buildings are in comparably good condition. Most have suffered very
little in terms of alterations, and their biggest threat is decay due to
neglect.
In addition to several significant buildings and structures, the
Cottage Row district also retains a rich array of ornamental vegeta-
tion and small-scale landscape features, such as the rain water cistern
at the Foote cottage, the sole remaining example of an element that
physical evidence suggests was once nearly ubiquitous on the island.
The spatial integrity of the former Cottage Row boardwalk remains
intact, defined by a row of large maple trees that line the edge of the
272
National Register of Historic Places Evaluations
/ Lake Michigan
Scale ^^^^
(Approximate) ^™^^^^^^^ North
100' 200'
Cottage Row
Historic District Boundaries
FIGURE 5.21
Drawing by Eric MacDonald
273
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
12 William Hopkins, Nora J. Mitchell
and Alive Bojanowski, "A Taste of
History," Courier (December 1988): 12-
14.
bluff. On individual lots, lilacs, white spirea, day lilies, and fragrant
roses persist These features evoke a sense of the past, recalling lazy
summer days spent sipping lemonade on the front porch and watch-
ing steamships ply the Manitou Passage. Cottage Row remains one of
the most important and most distinctive historic landscapes on North
Manitou Island.
Manitou Island Association West Side Barn
Period of Significance: 1927-1950
Criterion: A, C
Level of Significance: Local
The AHA West Side Barn is the only remaining, intact
resource representing the MIA's west-side operations on North
Alanitou Island. Furthermore, this structure was, and still is, the
largest barn built on North Alanitou, and it is an excellent example
of a plank-truss frame structure, a type common during the early
20th century. It therefore meets NRHP criteria A and C. Although
the barn has not been maintained by the NPS, it remains in excellent
structural condition. The barn originally was part of a larger farm
complex utilized by the AHA. Although this agricultural facility was
not as extensive as that at the village on the eastern side of the
island, it similarly consisted of a complex of fields, agricultural
outbuildings and a house. The farm house, built by Peter Swanson
and John Swenson in the 1880s, as well as other buildings that
existed at the site during the AHA era, are gone. One outbuilding,
which allegedly dates from the Crescent lumber camp, remains
nearby as a ruin. The land surrounding the barn may retain spatial
integrity but there is little physical evidence of former land-use
patterns. Small trees and shrubs are invading the central portion of
primary west-side clearing. Because the surrounding landscape
possesses only a marginal degree of historical integrity, only the barn
is considered eligible for inclusion in the NRHP. It should be noted,
however, that the former Crescent townsite may represent a signifi-
cant historical archaeological resource.
Frederic M. Beuham Orchard
Period of Significance 1881-1950
NRHP Criterion: A
Level of Significance: Local
Fruit trees and small orchards were ubiquitous components
of historic agricultural landscapes. Almost every farm had at least
one fruit tree, usually to supply apples. An orchard provided the
family with apple butter, dried apples, vinegar, and cider. 12 Almost
all of the abandoned farm sites on North Alanitou Island are marked
by fruit trees. Substantial relict orchards exist on the former farm-
steads of Lars Christian Alstrom/Peter Stormer, and Adam and
Alary Alaleski (figure 4.21). At other former farmsteads, such as
274
National Register of Historic Places Evaluations
Figure 5.21. Relict apple orchard at the
Alstrom/Stormer farm. Fruit trees are
common remnants of previous human
habitation, even atsites where few other
cultural resources remain.
those of John and Anna Maleski, John L.Johnson, Hendrick
Frederickson, and "Fat Annie," relict fruit trees are the most obvi-
ous evidence of the sites' agricultural history. The farm of home-
steader Frederic M. Beuham, however, possesses by far the most
extensive fruit orchard planted on the island by an individual
entrepreneur.
Beuham 's orchard is significant in the history of agriculture
on North Manitou Island for several reasons. First, it was the initial
attempt at large-scale commercial fruit farming on the island.
Although the farm operated by Nicholas Pickard on the island
during the 1860s and early 1870s also was of a grand scale, it was
not developed primarily as a commercial venture. Most, if not all,
of the commodities produced on Pickard's farm were consumed by
the work crews and animals associated with his wood-cutting
operation. For Pickard, who listed his occupation as "wood mer-
chant" in the 1870 federal census, the main purpose of the North
Manitou farm probably was to support timber extraction on the
island, not to produce commodities for external markets in exchange
for cash income. Although by regional standards Pickard's farm was
large, it was essentially a subsistence operation. In contrast, it is likely
that Frederic Beuham intended to develop a commercial farm on the
island from the very beginning. Soon after filing his homestead
application, Beuham established 500 fruit trees and vines on the
property. This planting represents a much larger orchard than would
be required for the subsistence of a single man, and much larger than
the local island market would have sustained, especially when one
considers that many island settlers probably had their own fruit trees.
The scale and character of Beuham's planting suggests that he hoped
to ship large quantities of fruit from the island to external markets.
He probably hoped to take advantage of steamship traffic through the
Manitou Passage to transport his crops to urban markets such as
Chicago or Milwaukee.
275
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Beuham's farm also represents another significant characteris-
tic of commercial agriculture: a tendency toward specialization. The
commodities produced by subsistence agriculture are characteristically
diverse because the family depends directly upon them for its survival.
Such diversified production strategies minimize risk: if one crop fails
during a particular growing season, yields of other crops may offset
the shortfall. Although riskier, a commercial operation typically
focuses production on only one or two commodities, which allow the
farmer to take advantage of economies of scale. When yields of a
particular commodity are large enough, it becomes economically
feasible to transport the crop to more distant markets. If the venture
is successful, the cash income obtained from those markets justifies
the greater production and transportation costs associated with
commercial agriculture. Market-based, commercial agriculture is
financially riskier and requires greater capital outlay. Such operations
tend to invest more heavily in capital improvements and new tech-
nologies in an effort to increase production, thereby maximizing
profits.
Frederic Beuham's orchard exemplifies these characteristics of
commercial agriculture, and hence signals the beginning of a new
phase in the island's history. As a dealer in fruit trees, he likely was
familiar with the latest developments in new plant cultivars and
scientific orchard management. It is clear that Beuham never in-
tended to reside on his North Manitou farm year-round. The fruit
plantation represented a substantial capital investment. However,
he probably viewed his island orchard primarily as a production
facility — a business venture rather than a home. Unfortunately,
lacking the 1890 federal agricultural census records, the productivity
of Beuham's young orchard probably will remain unknown. How-
ever, it must have been sufficiently profitable to encourage him to
expand the orchard significantly by contracting with the Stark
Brothers nursery firm in 1894.
Beuham set a precedent for subsequent agricultural develop-
ments on North Manitou. He began developing his orchard when
subsistence farming was, perhaps, at its peak on the island. While
general, subsistence farming declined during the 1890s and early
1900s, Beuham's venture proved the feasibility of large-scale fruit
cultivation on the island. Like Beuham, the property's subsequent
owners, Benjamin and Franklin Newhall, were absentee landlords, a
situation that later characterized agricultural production on North
Manitou during the twentieth century. The Newhalls' successor, the
Manitou Island Syndicate, continued fruit production and later, as
the Manitou Island Association, made fruit production the focus of
its farming operation. Commercial production of cherries and apples
was the principal agricultural activity on North Manitou Island
during the twentieth century.
Today the property consists of a clearing that is about 160
acres in extent. No structures remain on the property, nor is it
276
National Register of Historic Places Evaluations
obvious where structures formerly stood. The precise location of the
buildings built by Frederic Beuham is unknown. Due to the tempo-
rary nature of these structures, it is plausible that they were removed
by Beuham or by the orchard's subsequent owners, none of whom
intended to reside at the site. A substantial fruit storage barn, perhaps
constructed by the Newhalls, may have been removed later by the
Manitou Island Association, or the by Angell Foundation after apple
harvesting ceased.
Some of the orchard plantings occupying the southern
portion of the site were removed by the Manitou Island Association
sometime after 1938. Using a 1938 U.S. Department of Agriculture
aerial photograph as a basis for comparison, the remainder of the
site appears to retain a moderate level of integrity. Perhaps as many
as 700-1,000 living apple trees remain in the orchard (figure 5.22).
Many of the trees in the southern, lowland portion of the site have
died. Nevertheless, their physical remains preserve the rhythm and
spacing of the original planting design, and visually suggest the past
appearance of the historic landscape. In the upland portion of the
site, many of the trees appear to be in good condition; however,
invasion by rose shrubs and other woody species is beginning to
obscure the grid-like planting pattern of the orchard. The large
caliper sizes of some trees in this area suggest the possibility that
they may date from the late nineteenth century, perhaps even from
Frederic Beuham's initial planting during the 1880s. The historical
integrity of the entire landscape is not high, but it does retain its
spatial character and enough evidence of historic land use, vegeta-
tion, and planting patterns to represent the history of commercial
orcharding at the site.
The Beuham orchard appears to be eligible for inclusion in
the National Register of Historic Places under criterion A, due to its
vast size, its role in the history of settlement and agriculture on
North Manitou Island, its association with an important fruit nurs-
ery company, and its entrepreneurial nature. The site not only marks
the beginning of commercial fruit production on the island, but it
also is the only landscape associated with this theme that survives
with more than a low level of historical integrity. In addition, the
property is the largest fruit orchard within Sleeping Bear Dunes
National Lakeshore, and likely is one of the largest apple orchards
found within any unit of the National Park Service system. The
Beuham orchard may posses another layer of significance if any of
the surviving apple trees represent rare or unknown cultivars.
Hopkins et al. note that, because the NPS owns many historic
landscapes, a number of which have been relatively undisturbed by
modern development, the NPS system may be the "last reservoir"
for many historic cultivars of plants, and thus represent a significant
genetic resource. 13 In addition, the American Chestnut Society
considers the grove of American chestnut (Castenea dentatd) trees, » Hopkins et d., "Taste of History,"
which is located near the southeastern edge of the Beuham clearing, 13.
277
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 5.22. Row of apple trees,
Frederic Beuham orchard, 1996. The
Beuham orchard represents the legacy
of commercial fruit cultivation on North
Manitou Island, perhaps the most
important chapter in the island's
agricultural history. The regular rhythm
and spacing of the historic planting
design are exhibited in the pattern of
dead and living apple trees. The
landscape reflects historic patterns of
land use, vegetation, and spatial
character, and may contain rare or
historically significant apple cultivars.
14 This nomination "was never submit-
ted for consideration by the NRHP.
to be an important botanical resource. The NPS should sponsor
additional research to determine the varieties of apples present in
the orchard, and the number of healthy trees.
Alvar and Mary Bournique Residence
Period of Significance: 1903-1941
NRHP Criteria: A, C
Level of Significance: Local
In 1987, National Park Service historian David L. Fritz
prepared a draft NRHP nomination form for the Bournique resi-
dence. At that time, the proposed boundaries of the property
encompassed a forty-acre parcel that included the house and its
associated outbuildings, although the nomination considered only the
house to be a contributing building. The property was considered to
be NRHP-eligible under criterion C, due to the unusual design of the
house. 14 Current research suggests that the Bournique property
should be considered additionally significant under NRHP criterion
A, its association with historically important events. The Bournique
property was one of the last homestead claims filed on North
Manitou Island, and of all of the island homesteads, it retains the
highest degree of historical integrity. In addition, the Bournique place
was the largest, most extensive private summer resort developed on
the island. The property thus represents additional significance in two
areas: settlement and recreation.
278
National Register of Historic Places Evaluations
Figure 5.23. Alvar and Mary Bournique
residence and ice house, 1996. The
complex retains historical integrity, but it is
deteriorating rapidly.
The Bournique residential complex was determined eligible
for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places during
preparation of the North Manitou Island Development Concept
Plan in 1987. Unfortunately, the Bournique property has deterio-
rated substantially during the decade that has passed since the initial
NRHP nomination was drafted. The Bournique farmstead cluster
retains only marginal integrity, although the historic pattern of open
spaces and vegetation remains evident. With the exception of a
small corn crib, however, none of the historic farm buildings re-
mains standing. Consequently, the NRHP-eligible property should
encompass only the Bournique residence and its associated out-
buildings, as well as the small clearing that encloses these structures.
The residential complex is substantially more intact than the farm
cluster, but it, too, is deteriorating rapidly (figure 5.23). The wash
house is now merely a pile of debris, and in 1997 the roof of the
Bournique house appeared to be on the verge of failing. Architectur-
ally the Bournique house is the most important structure within the
complex. Its loss may mean that the entire Bournique property no
longer possesses sufficient integrity for inclusion in the NRHP.
Because of its visual complexity and aesthetic richness, its
relatively high level of integrity, and its remote location at the
southern end of the island, far from the North Manitou Village
settlement area, the Bournique place is, perhaps, the island's most
valuable "discovery site." The homestead represents three of the
island's most important historical themes: architecture, resort
recreation and agricultural settlement.
279
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
15 Donald Worster, "Nature's Economy:
A History of Ecological Ideas (Cam-
bridge: Cambridge University Press,
1977); Ronald C. Tobey, Sating the
Prairies: The Eife Cycle of the Founding
School of American Plant Ecology, 1 895-
1995 (Berkeley: University of Califor-
nia Press, 1981); Robert P. Mcintosh,
The Background of Ecology Concept and
Theory (Cambridge, England: Cam-
bridge University Press, 1985).
16 Sharon E. Kingsland, "Foundational
Papers: Defining Ecology as a
Science," in Leslie A. Real and James
H. Brown, eds., Foundations of Ecology:
Classic Papers with Commentaries
(Chicago & London: University of
Chicago Press in association with the
Ecological Society of America, 1991), 4.
17 Frederic E. Clements, "Plant
Succession: An Analysis of the
Development of Vegetation,"
Carnegie Inst. Washington Publ. No.
242:1-512 (1916); Frederic E.
Clements, "Nature and Structure of
the Climax," Journal of Ecology 24:252-
84 (1936).
18 Michael G. Barbour, "Ecological
Fragmentation in the Fifties," in
William Cronon, ed., Uncommon Ground:
Toward Reinventing Nature (New York:
W W Norton, 1995), 233-255.
North Manitou Island Dunes Historic District
Period of Significance: 1897-1898
Criteria: A, B
Level of Significance: National
The active dunes of North Manitou Island, along with other
dune formations along the eastern and southern shores of Lake
Michigan, were important research sites for Henry Chandler Cowles,
one of America's pioneer ecologists. The discipline flowered during
the period 1900-1920 with the publication of several important
books about ecology, the establishment of the Ecological Society of
America in 1915, and the founding of the journal Ecology in 1920.
By 1920 ecology was an established academic discipline, and the
first textbooks on the subject appeared in the late 1920s.
North Manitou played a key role in several early ecological
studies in the upper Great Lakes. In terms of historical significance,
however, none surpasses that of Henry Chandler Cowles. During
the early twentieth century, Cowles became the central figure in the
"Chicago School" of ecology. He was one of the most important
field ecologists and educators of the period. The significance of
Cowles' contributions to American ecological science has been
demonstrated by several historians. 15 Kingsland notes that Cowles'
dunes research "yielded the first thorough working out of a com-
plete successional series." 16 The 1898-99 publication of Cowles'
Lake Michigan dunes research was a pivotal event in the early
development of ecological science in the United States.
Concurrent with Cowles' dunes research, Frederic Clements
developed an alternate theory of succession. The Clementsian
model of succession represented a simple, unified framework for
conceptualizing vegetation change. In Clement's view, succession
was a unidirectional, linear process that always tended toward a
"climax" community, which was stable and resistant to change.
Furthermore, the climax was invariably determined by climate.
Clements also conceived the development of a plant community as
mirroring the growth of an individual plant, the climax plant forma-
tion being analogous to "a complex organism." His theory of suc-
cession was codified in Plant Succession: An Analysis of the Development
of Vegetation, which was published in 1916. 17
In contrast to Clements, Cowles believed that succession
was not a straight-line process, and a condition of equilibrium was
never truly reached. Cowles also did not follow Clements' "organis-
mic" conceptualization of plant associations and succession. How-
ever, the Clementsian view eventually prevailed, dominating the
early decades of American ecology despite subsequent challenges
from Henry Gleason and others. Until the 1950s, the beliefs of
Clements held sway 18 Since the 1950s, however, thinking about
succession has more closely resembled the dynamic model sketched
280
National Register of Historic Places Evaluations
by Cowles than the organismic conception advocated by Clements.
Although the concept of succession has undergone considerable
revision, Cowles laid a solid groundwork for one of the most central
ideas in plant ecology.
Ecologists now recognize that few, if any, areas are undis-
turbed. The idea of a climax community has been replaced by the
"climax landscape" concept, which represents a vegetation pattern
that exists at a larger scale. The pathways of succession are believed
to be multi-directional, possibly cyclical in some cases, and probabi-
listic {i.e., dependent on chance), rather than deterministic. The
mechanisms driving succession are thought to involve dynamic and
contingent interactions among organisms and environment, in
contrast to the concept of environmentally-determined, linear
development that characterized the Clementsian model. Patterns of
change unfold differently at each site. Mcintosh, an ecologist and a
historian, summarized the "essence" of succession as being an
"accumulation of organic material, change in nutrient supply and
moderation of the physical environment by organisms, as well as
changes in populations." 19 The modern emphasis on ecosystems
studies also is evident in Mcintosh's statement that succession is
"not a sequence of different systems, but a single system which
exchanges transient species and populations through time." 20
The dunes landscapes of Lake Michigan best represent the
historical significance of Henry C. Cowles and his contributions to
ecological science. The dunes are most directly associated with his
ecological research and his theory of succession. Although the
North Manitou landscapes that were studied by Cowles appear to be
"natural," bearing little if any physical evidence of human use, they
are nonetheless cultural landscapes of historical significance (figure
5.24). The NRHP currently includes several "natural" landscapes
that are significant as historic research sites, including those associ-
ated with the Lewis and Clark expedition, an Iowa quarry significant
for paleontological discoveries and theory, and test plots at a Mid-
western agricultural experiment station. In each case, the boundaries
of the designated landscape closely correspond with the area actu-
ally studied. 21
The North Manitou dunes and bluffs considered for NRHP
eligibility should be limited to those parts of the island studied by
Cowles, and which correspond with his theory of succession.
Cowles' 1898/99 article can serve as a basis for delimiting a NRHP
district study area. The proposed study area for this resource should
roughly follows vegetation areas mapped as "dunes and shores" and
"bluffs" by Brian T Hazlett and Robert J. Vande Kopple in 1983.
Such a boundary is consistent with the description and photographs
of North Manitou dunes that appeared in Cowles' paper. 22 The
boundary should encompass all of the successional zones, or "seres"
described in Cowles' model of dunes succession, from beach to
stabilized, forested inland dunes.
19 Mcintosh, Background of Ecology, 203-
204.
2u Mcintosh, Background of Ecology, 227 '.
21 Linda McClelland to Sherda
Williams, copy of e-mail message
dated 2 March 1998.
22 Brian T. Hazlett and Robert J. Vande
Kopple, The Terrestrial Vegetation and
Flora of North and South Manitou Islands;
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakesbore,
Leelanau County, Michigan (Douglas
Lake, Mich.: University of Michigan
Biological Station, 1983); Henry C.
Cowles, "The Ecological Relations of
the Vegetation on the Sand Dunes of
Lake Michigan," Botanical Gazette 27:
95-117, 167-202, 281-308, 361-391
(1899).
281
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 5.24. Beach and dunes along the
western shore of North Manitou Island,
1996. This landscape encompasses
distinctive plantand animal communities, as
well as significant historical and cultural
values. The dunes should be evaluated for
potential inclusion in the National Registerof
Historic Places due to theircontribution to
the developmentof ecological science.
The historical integrity of the dunes landscape of North
Manitou Island should be determined after evaluating primary
sources such as Cowles' Ph.D. dissertation, his field notes, and the
collection of photographs taken by him during his research on the
island. Historical integrity, in this case, must be conceived in terms
of both physical characteristics and processes. Certainly, the physical
features that attracted Cowles to the island — the dunes and the
patterns of vegetation on them — do not appear exactly as they did
during the 1890s. The dunes landscape is distinguished by constant
change and perpetual instability. It is, in Cowles' words, "a restless
maze.
23 Cowles, "Ecological Relations,"
botanical Gazette, 194.
On-going physical processes such as soil erosion and deposi-
tion, variations in lake levels and shoreline locations, and other
factors may dramatically alter the form and visual appearance of the
landscape. However, it was these very processes, not just the
physical features themselves, that attracted Cowles to the dunes.
Cowles essentially was interested in vegetation change {i.e., succes-
sion) and its relationship to natural disturbances. Indeed, the absence
of such factors in the current landscape would diminish the its
historical integrity. If the dunes were to remain physically "intact"
{i.e., unchanged in outward form) since the 1890s, then, according
to Cowles' theory, the vegetation found there would today be
completely different, probably maple-beech forest. In terms of its
historical associations with Cowles' research, such a landscape
282
National Register of Historic Places Evaluations
would lack historical integrity. It would no longer represent the theory
of succession, and its cultural associations and significance would be
weakened accordingly.
A more serious issue related to the landscape's historical
integrity may be the impact that the non-native deer population has
had on the island's dune vegetation. Hazlett and Vande Kopple
have noted that several species of dune plants mentioned by
Cowles, such as juniperus communis, J. horizontals, Arctostaphyks and
Prunus pumila, are no longer present or subsist in low numbers on
North Manitou Island. 24 A more detailed historical study is needed
to assess the impact of this loss on the dune's historical integrity.
Places where natural features and processes have been significantly
disrupted or altered by subsequent human activity such as the
Crescent townsite, may have to be excluded from the district.
Consequently, the final district may be non-contiguous.
The North Manitou dunes are a tangible, yet seldom-ac-
knowledged reminder of how "natural" landscapes function as
carriers of cultural meaning. The dunes inspire us to reflect upon the
extent to which "natural" landscapes are culturally constructed, and
blur the distinctions between nature and artifice. The "artifact" of
importance at the North Manitou dunes is conceptual rather than
physical: it is an idea, or theory, about nature. Yet it is even more
than that. The dunes helped inspire not just a scientific theory, but a
new way of looking at the landscape — a way of seeing that empha-
sized not only the tangible, material attributes of a scene, but also
the invisible processes and systems underlying landscape change.
The entire Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is a
testament to the power of this new, "ecological" way of viewing the
world. Indeed, the management of North Manitou Island as a
"wilderness," with its explicit respect for the integrity of natural
systems and processes, is in no small part derived from contempo-
rary ecological thinking. What was a nascent science during the late
1890s, developed into a mature discipline with a pronounced
managerial focus by the late 1960s. The dunes remind us that the
material and conceptual dimensions of landscapes are bound
together in a reciprocal relationship — they inspire one another in a
constant, circular process of invention and reinvention. The ability
to see the dunes landscape of North Manitou as both natural
(existing outside of us) and cultural (known to us only as perceived
through our senses and constructed in our minds) may again change
the way we interpret and manage environmental change.
In a certain sense, the shoreline dunes and bluffs of North
Manitou may be the most ironic, yet powerful cultural landscapes on
the island. What first appear to be the most utterly "natural" places
on the island, seemingly little touched by human enterprise, may in
fact be landscapes of national historical significance. In a further 24 Hazlett and Vande Kopple
twist of irony, the research carried out by Henry C. Cowles on the Terrestrial Vegetation, 46.
283
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
island foreshadowed subsequent management of the entire North
Manitou landscape under policies based on ecological theories and
principles. The current "wilderness" landscape of North Manitou
Island appears ever more as a product of its own human history. It is
a landscape that has been created not only by human activities, but
more pervasively (and more subtly) by human ideas and myths, as
reflected in the writings of William Cullen Bryant and Margaret
Fuller, the promotional literature of the Angell Foundation, the
physiographic ecology of Henry C. Cowles, and the rhetoric of the
Wilderness Act ofl964. Farmers, loggers and recreationists certainly
have left their marks on the landscape, but so too have poets,
propagandists, ecologists, and professional resource managers.
non-nrhp-eligible
Properties on North
Manitou Island
Several properties related to the history of agriculture on North
Manitou Island do not appear to meet the criteria for inclusion in
the National Register of Historic Places. Many of these appear to
have marginal historical significance and little or no historical integ-
rity: John and Ildri Anderson Homestead Site, Nels and Sophia
Carlson Homestead, John and Anna Maleski Homestead, Hendrick
Frederickson Farmstead, John Swenson/Cunningham Home Site,
John L. and (Wanda?) Johnson Farmstead, "Fat Annie's" Place,
Peter Hanson Homestead, Lars Christopher Homestead, Nicholas
Feilen Homestead, and the Gustaf Olson and Mary Olson Swan
Homestead. Three sites — the Andrew Anderson Homestead, Mad
and Gertrude Nerland/John and Ildri Anderson Farmstead, and the
Lars Christian Alstrom/Peter Stormer Farm — possess significant
historical associations, but retain little integrity.
The Andrew Anderson Homestead site is historically signifi-
cant as the first farm developed on North Manitou Island under
provisions of the Homestead Act of 1864. However, no significant
284
National Register of Historic Places Evaluations
cultural features survive from Anderson's occupation of the site; it
thus fails to meet the integrity requirements for NRHP eligibility.
Similar situations exist at the Adam and Mary Maleski Farm, Mads
and Gertrude Nerland/John and Ildri Anderson Farmstead, and the
Lars Christian Alstrom/Peter Stormer Farm. Although the Maleski
family clearly played an important role in the history of agriculture
on North Manitou, all of the numerous buildings that once stood on
this farmstead are either nonextant or in ruinous condition. Likewise,
the only structure that currently exists at the Mads and Gertrude
Nerland/John and Ildri Anderson Farmstead is a severely dilapidated
house. Historic patterns of land use, spatial organization, circulation,
and horticultural and ornamental vegetation remain evident at both
of these sites, but such relict features do not sufficiently constitute
integrity of design, materials, or workmanship for the landscape as a
whole.
The Lars Christian Alstrom/Peter Stormer Farm is the best-
preserved example of a logging "company farm", a distinctive type
of agricultural operation that played an important role in the island's
agricultural history for nearly a century. However, this property too,
exhibits only a marginal level of historical integrity — only two
ruinous structures, a few apple trees, and some ornamental vegeta-
tion remain. Although the properties listed above do not appear to
be eligible for inclusion in the NRHP, they may possess interpretive
and aesthetic value as "discovery sites."
285
Cultural Landscape Management Recommendations
Chapter Six
Cultural Landscape
Management
Recommendations
Few landscapes within Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
reveal the extent to which natural and cultural resources manage-
ment are interrelated as clearly as North Manitou Island. A detailed
analysis of natural resources management on North Manitou is
beyond the scope of this report. Any discussion of the island
landscape, however, must address the issue of natural resources
management, because nature provides the basis for cultural land-
scapes. As stated by Sauer, "The natural landscape is ... of funda-
mental importance, for it supplies the materials out of which the
cultural landscape is formed." 1 Furthermore, resource managers
often perceive the goals of natural and cultural resources manage-
ment to be incompatible. This is especially true in the case of North
Manitou Island, where documentation, evaluation, and management
of cultural resources appear to have been constrained by wilderness
management objectives. Nonetheless, natural processes are integral
to cultural landscapes, and management and intervention in those
processes are not in themselves antithetical to cultural resource
management. The treatment and management of natural and cul-
tural landscapes should be conceived in tandem.
Before describing treatment recommendations for specific
cultural resources, this chapter will examine the historical and
administrative contexts of resource management on the island. The
first part of this chapter offers a brief administrative history of
North Manitou Island. The second part places the history of re-
source management on the island within the context of agency-wide
policies and legislated mandates, and includes a critique of some of
1 Carl Sauer, "The Morphology of
Landscape," in Land andLife: A Seledi
from the Writings of Carl Ortivin Sauer,
ed. John Leighly (Berkeley, CA:
University of California Press, 1 963),
343.
287
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
the assumptions underlying these strategies. The concluding section
describes recommended treatment approaches for specific resources
on North Manitou Island.
2 Aldo Leopold, A Sand County
Almanac; with Essays on Conservation from
Round River (New York: Ballantine
Books, 1966), 266-267.
3 Department of the Interior, National
Park Service, OurFourth Coast: Great
Takes Shoreline Recreation Area Survey
(Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of
the Interior, National Park Service,
1960).
Landscape Management
on North Manitou Island
Creation of Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore
Public interest in environmental conservation grew markedly during
the late 1950s and throughout the 1960s. The popularity of books
such as Rachel Carson's Silent Spring and Aldo Leopold's A Sand
County Almanac during this period reflected intense public concern
for the degrading effects that modern technology and development
were having on non-human nature. Leopold, in particular, made an
eloquent plea for the conservation of wild areas, and even identified
shorelines as especially endangered wilderness habitats. "One of the
fastest-shrinking categories of wilderness is coastlines," wrote
Leopold in A Sand County Almanac. "No single kind of wilderness is
more intimately interwoven with history, and none nearer the point
of complete disappearance." 2
Among other factors, interest in protecting endangered wild
areas, such as those evoked by Leopold, inspired the expansion of
the National Park Service (NPS) during the 1960s and early 1970s.
During the 1950s, administrators recognized that the agency needed
to increase the environmental diversity of the national park system,
achieve better geographic distribution, and improve recreation
opportunities in areas located proximate to metropolitan centers.
One result of the interest in protecting natural and recreational
lands along shorelines was a study of the Great Lakes region under-
taken during the late 1950s. When the study was initiated, the only
significant NPS unit in the Great Lakes region was Isle Royale
National Park in Lake Superior. The NPS study focused on the
Great Lakes as recreation resources, and evaluated sites for poten-
tial national park designation relative to their proximity to large
population centers, and the presence of outstanding natural fea-
tures. The project culminated in a report published in 1960, Our
Fourth Coast: Great Lakes Shoreline Recreation Area Survey?
Among many recommendations, OurFourth Coast recom-
mended the consideration of five areas with 118 miles of shoreline
for possible inclusion in the NPS system. Sleeping Bear Dunes, one
288
Cultural Landscape Management Recommendations
of the five areas endorsed by the report, was described as "one of the
outstanding recreation and natural areas on the Great Lakes," a
landscape of ". . . magnificent dunes, combined with the forest-
covered Empire Dunes, the miles of excellent sand beaches, the old
beach lines and pine and oak forests of the Platte Plains, the giant
cedars, dunes and gull colony of South Manitou Island, the bogs,
marches, lakes and streams of the area and the variety of birds and
wildlife . . ." 4
After more than a decade of study, Congress authorized the
establishment of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore on 21
October 1970. The legislation created a 71,000-acre preserve along
the northeastern shore of Lake Michigan to protect:
. . . certain outstanding natural features, including forests,
beaches, dune formations, and ancient glacial phenom-
ena . . . along the mainland shore of Lake Michigan and
on certain nearby islands in Benzie and Leelanau Coun-
ties, Michigan . . . 5
The 1970 legislation stated that such features "ought to be pre-
served in their natural setting and protected from developments and
uses which would destroy the scenic beauty and natural character of
the area . . . for the benefit, inspiration, education, recreation, and
enjoyment of the public ..." 6 The recreational emphasis of the
legislation reflected the perspective of the study from which it grew.
While protection of natural features was a primary goal of the
national lakeshore, accommodating recreation also was a prime
component of the management mandate. Establishment of Sleep-
ing Bear Dunes National Lakeshore thus reflected the dual purposes
of the National Park Service as defined in the Organic Act of 25
August 1916, which directs the agency to "conserve the scenery and
the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to
provide for the enjoyment of the same in such a manner and by
such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of
future generations." 7
Consistent with the larger NPS mission, the Sleeping Bear
Dunes act contained provisions for specific types of active recre-
ation, such as hunting and fishing, and instructed the NPS to
provide "scenic overlooks for public enjoyment and interpretation
of the national lakeshore and related features." The Act instructed
the National Park Service to prepare a "land use and water use
management plan" to contain, among other items, specific provi-
sions for "protection of scenic, scientific, and historic features
contributing to public enjoyment" of the lakeshore. In addition,
within four years the Secretary of the Interior was instructed to
report to the president on the suitability of areas for wilderness or
potential wilderness designation. 8 The agency's subsequent efforts to
identify and protect wilderness areas have profoundly influenced both
natural and cultural resources management within the lakeshore.
4 Ibid., 13.
5 Sleeping Bear Dunes "National Lakeshore,
U.S. Code,vol 4, sec. 460x-l (1970).
6 Ibid.
7 National Park Service, U.S. Code, vol. 4,
title 16, sec. 1(1970).
s Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore,
U.S. Code, vol. 4, sec. 460x (1970). The
last mandate noted above "was in
accordance with the requirements of the
Wilderness Act of 1964.
289
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
9 Department of the Interior, National
Park Service, "Departmental Guidelines
for Wilderness Proposals" 24 June
1972.
Department of the Interior, National
Park Service, Final Wilderness Recommenda-
tion: Sleeping Hear Dunes "National
Lakeshore, Michigan (Empire, Mich.:
Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore, September 1975), 1, 12, 31.
11 Department of the Interior, National
Park Service, GeneralManagementPlan:
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore,
Michigan (Denver: Department of the
Interior, National Park Service, October
1979), 1.
Early National Park Service Planning
The NPS complied with the administrative mandates contained in
the enabling legislation by producing a Wilderness Study in 1974, a
Wilderness Recommendation in 1975, and a Scenic Road Study in
1977. An initial master plan, which had been prepared before
Sleeping Bear Dunes was officially established in 1970, defined
areas within the lakeshore that merited consideration as potential
wilderness. The 1974 wilderness study was based on the recommen-
dations in that plan. After a public hearing, the wilderness proposal
was revised and finalized in 1975, in accordance with NPS "Depart-
mental Guidelines for Wilderness Proposals," which had been
developed to ensure agency-wide compliance with the Wilderness
Act of 1964. 9 The 1975 recommendation concluded that none of
the lands of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore was eligible
for designation as wilderness. However, the report stated that
"nearly all of North and South Manitou Islands and four areas on
the mainland will qualify for wilderness designation if and when
they become federal lands and nonconforming uses are terminated."
On North Manitou Island, the 1975 "potential wilderness" recom-
mendation encompassed 14,400 acres, excluding 52 acres for the
future development of visitor facilities. 10
In 1977 the NPS determined that the initial master plan
developed for the lakeshore was obsolete because most of the land
within the lakeshore boundaries had been acquired and because
"more was known about the area's resources, and the public's
perception of the national lakeshore's role in the region had
changed." 11 Consequently, the agency began preparing a new general
management plan (GMP) for the lakeshore, a process that was
completed in 1979. The GMP set the course for all future planning
and development activities within the lakeshore. The plan was
organized into four topical sections: visitor use, natural and cultural
resources management, management zoning, and general develop-
ment. The management zoning and general development compo-
nents of the GMP were presented in maps.
Although North Manitou Island had not been acquired by
the National Park Service, its future development and management
was integrated into the GMP planning process. The island played a
prominent role in the GMP's visitor use concept, which distin-
guished between two basic types of visitor experiences: isolated,
seasonal use, and more diverse, intensive uses focused on year-
round interpretive and recreational facilities. Development of the
Manitou islands was oriented toward the "seasonal use" end of the
continuum. As summarized in the GMP:
The islands will be managed as isolated, seasonal use
areas, with access by boat (the islands are inaccessible
December through March); hiking will be the primary
means of exploring and discovering their resources; and
290
Cultural Landscape Management Recommendations
solitude, remoteness, and self-reliance will be the principal
elements of the visitor experience. 12
The Sleeping Bear Dunes GMP assumed that most visitors
would be attracted to the lakeshore primarily by its recreational
resources. Visitors would come "to camp, climb the dunes, hike and
ski the trails, boat and fish, and drive through the picturesque
countryside to scenic overlooks." 13 In accordance with the presumed
recreational focus of park visitors, the NPS proposed a program
based on broad interpretive concepts such as "the glacial origins of
the land and lakes." 14 Beyond a general focus on geologic history,
the interpretive program was to emphasize the interlinkage of
natural and human history:
Natural history and human history are inseparable parts
of the interpretive story: The story of the many land-
forms and natural environments, which combine to
make a scenically diverse and interesting terrain, are
complemented by the history of settlement and the use
of the land and water. Together these elements make up
a story of human adaptation to and influence on the
natural environment The linking of past, present and
future should be stressed . . . 15
Counter to this interpretive approach, and in contrast to other areas
of the lakeshore, the interpretive program for North Manitou Island
was to be much more subdued and substantially limited in scope.
The GMP stated:
The primitive character of this island — its inaccessibil-
ity, lack of development, and relatively large size
(14,753 acres) — will be emphasized. Essential aspects
of the visitor experience will be a high degree of soli-
tude, a feeling of self-reliance, and a sense of explora-
tion Limited orientation and interpretive aids will be
provided to encourage a different type of experience for
visitors, one that will be based on an individual's skills at
getting around. 16
The GMP proposed little development on the island, which was to
encompass only a minimal trail system, a docking facility at the
village, and adaptive use of the life saving station for basic adminis-
trative functions.
On nearby South Manitou Island, "a sense of discovery and a
feeling of solitude" also was intended to be "integral to the visitor
experience." In contrast to the situation on North Manitou Island,
however, South Manitou was thought to possess "well-preserved
examples of man's [sic] former presence that have withstood the
forces of nature." On South Manitou, such "examples of man's
former presence" were thought to enhance the overall visitor
experience, and justified an interpretive program that was somewhat
more intensive. The development of interpretive aids was consid- 15 Ibid., 5
ered appropriate on South Manitou Island, where " the sense of 16 Ibid., 7
12 Ibid, 3.
13 Ibid, 5.
14 Ibid, 6.
291
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
i 7-8.
18 Ibid., 11, 13. Although the majority of
agricultural lands on the mainland "were
slated to be "returned to a natural
condition and managed in accordance
with National Park Service wilderness
policies," the "interesting farmsteads
and pastoral scenes" of certain districts
"were to be maintained "to enhance the
scenic driving opportunities and to
allow for the interpretation of agricul-
tural practices."
19 Department of the Interior, National
Park Service, Wilderness Recommendation:
Sleeping Hear Dunes "National Lakeshore
(Empire, Mich. Sleeping Bear Dunes
National Lakeshore, January 1981), 8.
Most of the reduction in the wilderness
exclusion acreage "was achieved because
the 1975 had considered a group
campground facility to be part of the
future development on North Manitou
Island. By the time the GMP "was
completed in 1979, this campground
facility "was no longer considered
necessary or desirable.
20 Jane E. Elder, Field Representative,
Sierra Club, Mackinac Chapter, to
Superintendent, Sleeping Bear Dunes
National Lakeshore, 13 September 1979,
in National Park Service, Wilderness
Recommendation, January 1981, 123-124.
exploration should increase as visitors move inland through the fallow
farmlands."
While much of South Manitou also was designated as
"potential wilderness," the GMP excluded a corridor through the
wilderness areas for public transportation. The plan proposed a
museum to interpret the history of fishing, logging, and agriculture
on the island, a public transportation system using horse-drawn
wagons, a conducted tour, and reuse of existing farm structures for
NPS seasonal housing 17 The GMP called for some of the former
agricultural fields on South Manitou Island to be maintained, a
management approach that was more akin to proposals for certain
areas on the mainland. 18
During the GMP planning process the NPS also reviewed
the 1975 Wilderness Recommendation, and consequently deter-
mined that one of the five areas originally recommended for "poten-
tial wilderness" was unsuitable due to its small area, nearby activi-
ties, and potential use. The GMP recommended that the 1975
Wilderness Recommendation be updated and submitted to Con-
gress. Accordingly, a revised wilderness recommendation for the
lakeshore was finalized in 1981. Among other changes, the 1981
Wilderness Recommendation increased the area of "potential
wilderness" on North Manitou Island to 14,726 acres. Whereas the
1975 recommendation had proposed a 52-acre wilderness exclusion,
the revised 1981 recommendation stated that 27 acres would be
"sufficient for a docking facility, limited [visitor] orientation, and
interpretive aids." 19 This change was consistent with the "primitive
character" and "lack of development" that the General Manage-
ment Plan emphasized in regard to North Manitou Island. Likewise,
the potential wilderness area on South Manitou Island was manipu-
lated to achieve the intended visitor experience of "a sense of
discovery and a feeling of solitude" amidst "well-preserved ex-
amples of man's former presence" in the landscape. Until Congress
formally acted on the revised recommendation, however, all poten-
tial wilderness areas in the lakeshore were to be managed as desig-
nated wilderness.
During its public review period, the revised wilderness
recommendation received support from many regional and state
conservation organizations. Most groups, like the Mackinac Chapter
of the Sierra Club, supported the NPS proposal to maintain the
lakeshore's wilderness areas, including the islands, in a "wild and
natural state." In her comments, the chapter's field representative
added that "we also recognize the unique cultural and historical
features such as the village on South Manitou Island and the various
maritime and agricultural sites within the Lakeshore. Preservation
and interpretation of these features in a manner which is non-
commercial and has minimal impact on surrounding natural features
is appropriate." 20 Preservation of South Manitou Island's cultural
resources also garnered support from the Benzie Audubon Club, and
292
Cultural Landscape Management Recommendations
the Michigan United Conservation Clubs (MUCC), which character-
ized the island as "a storehouse of Michigan's history, from the tiny
village of South Manitou on its eastern shore to the now abandoned
farms located in the interior." On South Manitou, the MUCC
supported a "balance between interpretation and wilderness experi-
ence." 21
The North Manitou Island recommendations inspired
considerably less attention from reviewers. The MUCC objected to
the proposed NPS wilderness management philosophy, instead
calling for the island to be managed as "semi-wilderness." The
MUCC advocated greater manipulation of island wildlife popula-
tions in order to preserve it as "a truly wild place" open to sports-
men for hunting and fishing. However, conservation organizations
generally supported wilderness management for all but 27 acres of
the island. In a more general comment, the Detroit Audubon Society
suggested that "man-made [sic] structures ... be permitted to
deteriorate rather than be removed unless they represent an attrac-
tive nuisance or potential hazard to park visitors ..." With this
notable exception, "examples of man's former presence" on North
Manitou Island, went largely ignored by commentors.
The Wilderness Recommendation finalized by the NPS in
1981 consisted of five potential wilderness units totaling approxi-
mately 24,000 acres. North Manitou Island was the largest unit
within the lakeshore, followed by the 4,186-acre Otter Creek unit. 22
The U.S. House Subcommittee on Public Lands and National Parks
reviewed the entire Sleeping Bear Dunes wilderness recommenda-
tion in 1982. Later that year the subcommittee accepted the Wilder-
ness Recommendation and incorporated it into an amendment to
the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Act. 23 Although
Congress did not formally act upon the 1981 Wilderness Recom-
mendation, the amendment stipulated that the areas described in the
1981 report were to be maintained in their "presently existing
wilderness character and potential for inclusion in the National
Wilderness System," until Congress determined otherwise. 24 Two
years later, the NPS assumed management of North Manitou Island
in accordance with this congressional mandate. 25
Development and Interpretation Concepts for
North Manitou Island
Shortly after taking possession of North Manitou Island, the National
Park Service began developing specific development and interpretive
plans for the island. National Park Service historian David L. Fritz
compiled a "History Data Report" for the island in 1987, the same
year that the NPS completed a draft Development Concept Plan/
Interpretive Prospectus (DCP/IP) for North Manitou. The DCP/IP
described in greater detail the facilities, trail system disposition of
buildings, campsite management, and wilderness boundaries outlined
21 National Park Service, Wilderness
Recommendation, January 1981, 117;
Raymond Rustem, Northern Michigan
Field Representative, Michigan United
Conservation Clubs, to Superintendent,
Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore, 12 December 1978, in
National Park Service, Wilderness
Recommendation, January 1981, 127-129.
22 National Park Service, Wilderness
Recommendation, January 1981. On South
Manitou Island, 145 acres "were excluded
from "wilderness designation.
23 Sleeping Hear Dunes National Lakeshore,
U.S. Code, vol. 4, title 16, sec. 460x-15
(1982).
24 Ibid.
25 The last major land holders on North
and South Manitou Islands sold their
properties to the National Park Service
in 1984. There remained one private,
"seasonal residential retention" on each
island.
293
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
26 Department of the Interior, National
Park Service, Development Concept Plan/
Interpretive Prospectus, North Manitou
Island, Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakesbore, Michigan (Empire, Mich.
Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore, 5 November 1987), 2.
27 Ibid., 1.
28 Ibid, 20.
29 Ibid.
30 Ibid, 30.
in the lakeshore's GMP. The DCP/IP also included more-detailed
descriptions of the island's resources.
As part of previous planning efforts, the NPS had completed
an inventory of structures and buildings on North Manitou Island in
1979. This survey data, along with the "History Data Report"
prepared by David L. Fritz, served as the basis for evaluating the
historical significance of cultural resources on the island. As re-
flected in the DCP/IP, however, the fate of most of these resources
appeared to be predetermined by the 1981 Wilderness Recommen-
dation. The NPS viewed the congressionally-mandated wilderness
management of all but 27 acres of the island as "significantly
limiting the options for historic structures management." 26 Such a
constraint seemed unimportant, however, because the island's
history was viewed as unremarkable, and inconsequential in its
imprint on the landscape. "Except for previous logging and some
agricultural use," remarked the DCP/IP in a self-contradictory
statement, "North Manitou Island is predominantly undisturbed,
with an extensive beech/maple forest, wave-cut and shoreline
bluffs, perched dunes, lakes, cedar trees, and an introduced white-
tailed deer population." 27
Comparison with South Manitou Island served as a primary
basis for justifying the North Manitou development and interpretive
concept outlined in the DCP/IP:
The natural and cultural resources and history story are
largely similar on North and South Manitou islands.
Rather than provide similar experiences on both islands,
the GMP emphasizes interpretive and day use activities
on South Manitou Island and primitive overnight use on
North Manitou Island. 28
Most certainly, this statement neither reflected the chronicle of
human history presented in David L. Fritz's "History Data Report,"
nor did it acknowledge that the GMP's North Manitou Island
interpretive concept was generated several years before Fritz's
report had been written. Instead, the DCP/IP uncritically reiterated
the GMP's visitor use concept for North Manitou Island, of "a
primitive experience emphasizing solitude, a feeling of self-reliance,
and a sense of exploration." No on-site interpretive center was
proposed, and no more than three wayside exhibits were to be
installed on the island. Minimal interpretation was to be offered
through publications that would provide backcountry etiquette and
safety information, and a more comprehensive guide to include
"interpretation of natural history and some mention of the island's
human history" 29 Only the buildings of the lifesaving station, the
sawmill, and the village barn — all of which were considered both
historically significant and useful — were to be preserved. The plan
considered the other structures on the island to be "visual intru-
sions," and called for them to "deteriorate naturally," or to be
removed. 30
294
Cultural Landscape Management Recommendations
During preparation of the North Manitou Island DCP/IP,
the National Park Service determined that six properties appeared
to be eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic
Places: the lifesaving station complex; the Katie Shepard summer
hotel and cottage; the MIA sawmill; the MIA village barn; the MIA
west-side barn, and the Bournique place. The treatments of removal
or neglect proposed in the DCP/IP for the Katie Shepard Hotel,
MIA west-side barn, and the Bournique Place clearly conflicted with
the U.S. Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Historic Preserva-
tion Projects. Consequently, the NPS consulted with the Michigan
State Historic Preservation Officer and the Advisory Council on
Historic Preservation. They developed a Programmatic Memoran-
dum of Agreement (PMOA) that fulfilled the agency's legal require-
ment under the NHPA, and allowed the structures to become
moldering ruins after they were documented according to Historic
American Buildings Survey (HABS) guidelines. The PMOA was
executed in July 1987. 31
The North Manitou Island DCP/r? was presented for public
review in 1987, along with similar plans for Glen Haven on the
mainland. The Glen Haven proposals attracted considerable public
interest, whereas the North Manitou plan drew comparably fewer
comments. Rita Hadra Rusco, who arguably knew the North
Manitou landscape and its history better than any other constituent,
advocated preservation and interpretation of the island's cultural
resources. Rusco protested the overt neglect of human history on
North Manitou Island, and instead recommended a guided vehicle
tour, similar to that intended for South Manitou Island. Rusco
suggested that the interpretive tour should extend along a "historic
corridor" from the village to the island cemetery, the Bournique
place, Nerland/ Anderson house, the Alstrom homestead, and the
west-side location of Crescent. 32 More typical, however, were the
comments of the Mackinac Chapter of the Sierra Club, which
supported the draft DCP/IP and urged the National Park Service to
quickly implement wilderness management techniques on the
island. 33 The DCP/IP for North Manitou Island was formally ap-
proved by the NPS in November 1987.
Although the NPS had been implementing wilderness man-
agement techniques since it assumed control of the island in 1984,
strict enforcement of these restrictions did not begin until 1987. 34
Thereafter, management of the island's resources has remained
consistent with techniques mandated in Chapter 6, "Wilderness
Preservation and Management," in NPS Management Policies (1988). In
accordance with NPS policies, management techniques in wilderness
areas must comply with the "minimum tool" principle, which dictates
that only minimal interventions may be undertaken, and these must be
implemented by the least intrusive method, regardless of whether or
not it is the most economical method. 35 For example, the use of
mechanized equipment in the potential wilderness area of North
31 Ibid., 28-29. Since they initially were
developed in 1 976, the "U.S. Secretary of
the Interior's Standards for Historic
Preservation Projects" have constituted
the primary code of professional ethics
and "working principles for preservation
activities in the United States. In 1992
the standards "were revised and re -titled
"The Secretary of the Interior's Stan-
dards for the Treatment of Historic
Properties."
j2 Rita Hadra Rusco to Superintendent,
Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore, 23 June 1987, in Department
of the Interior, National Park Service,
"Public Response Report for the Draft
North Manitou Island Development
Concept Plan and the Draft Glen Haven
development Concept Plan/Interpretive
Prospectus/Environmental Assess-
ment, Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore" (Denver: National Park
Service, September 1987), n.p.
33 Ann Wiowode, Mackinac Chapter,
Sierra Club, to Superintendent, Sleeping
Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, 21 July
1987, in National Park Service, 'Tub lie
Response Report," n.p.
j4 Acting Director, National Park Service,
"Notice: Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore, Implementation of
Wilderness Management," signed 11
March 1987, on file at Sleeping Bear
Dunes National Lakeshore, Empire,
Mich. Implementation of wilderness
management techniques on South
Manitou Island began in 1982.
Department of the Interior, National
Park Service, Management Policies:
Management of the "National Park System
(Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
the Interior, National Park Service,
1988), 6:4-5.
295
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Manitou is prohibited, "except as necessary to meet minimum Na-
tional Park Service administrative requirements and/or emergency
situations." 36 Administrative facilities are likewise limited to the
"types and minimum number essential to preserve wilderness charac-
ter or values or essential to ensure public safety." 37
The year 1994 represents an important turning point in the
history of the cultural resources management on North Manitou
Island. An NPS proposal to install a photovoltaic (PV) array on the
island sparked controversy about the design and location of such a
facility, and refocused public attention on the island's cultural
resources. After considering additional historical information, the
Michigan State Historic Preservation Officer determined that the
buildings comprising the AHA farm complex and Cottage Row
appeared be eligible for inclusion in the National Register of His-
toric Places. 38 Also in 1994, a reevaluation of the U.S. Life Saving
Service (USLSS) complex occurred when historical research deter-
mined that the beach cart house on North Manitou Island was an
1854 volunteer rescue station — a nationally significant resource.
The USLSS complex was determined to be eligible for designation
as a National Historic Landmark.
As noted in the North Manitou DCP/IP, strict interpretation
of, and adherence to, NPS wilderness management policies would
seem to "significantly limit" the treatment options for cultural
resources on the island. However, it is important to recognize that
such limitations, whether they be statutory or conceptual, are
artifacts of the presumed opposition of wilderness and cultural
landscapes. Such limitations thus reflect a fundamental assumption
of NPS management philosophy: the disjuncture of human and
non-human nature. "Limitations" are a consequence of this disjunc-
ture, and are accordingly manifest in both wilderness and cultural
landscape management strategies. Indeed, depending on the context,
cultural landscape management techniques may be every bit as
"limiting" when in reference to wilderness management options. The
following sections explore these issues further.
36 Acting Director, "Notice: . . . Imple-
mentation of Wilderness Manage-
ment."
37 National Park Service, Management
Policies, 6:5.
j8 Michigan State Historic Preservation
Officer to Regional Historian, Midwest
Region, National Park Service, 7 October
1994, SLBE; Michigan State Historic
Preservation Officer to Superintendent,
Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore, 1 December 1994, SLBE.
296
Cultural Landscape Management Recommendations
NPS Cultural Landscapes
Management
Statutory and Policy Framework
In 1966, Congress enacted the National Historic Preservation Act
(NHPA), which established most of the nation's federal preserva-
tion programs and policies. Passage of the NHPA was, in part, a
reaction to widespread loss and destruction of historic sites across
the United States. Most current National Park Service policies for
managing cultural resources stem from mandates contained in the
NHPA of 1966, and as revised by subsequent amendments. The
keystone of federal cultural resources management policies is the
National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) program, which was
described in Chapter Five. The NRHP provides managers with a
framework for identifying and evaluating significant cultural proper-
ties. Once identified, the treatment of resources is guided by ap-
proaches established by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, as man-
dated by the NHPA of 1966, as amended. 39
First published in 1976, the Secretary of the Interior's
professional standards for historic preservation projects have been
utilized extensively for public and private sector preservation
activities throughout the country. In 1992 the standards were
revised and republished as the "Secretary of the Interior's Standards
for the Treatment of Historic Properties." The standards are orga-
nized according to four levels of treatment — preservation, rehabili-
tation, restoration, and reconstruction. Each treatment approach is
designed to be applicable to all of the various types of historic
properties recognized by the National Register of Historic Places:
buildings, structures, sites, objects, districts, and landscapes.
Cultural Resources Management: Conventions of
Interpretation and Practice
Of the four treatment levels defined by the Secretary of the Interior,
"preservation" is the most conservative approach, emphasizing the
retention of the greatest amount of historic material. Properties that
retain an exceptionally high degree of historical integrity are often
assigned this level of treatment. A "preservation" treatment also may
be applied when there is insufficient documentation to support
restoration or reconstruction, or when more intensive treatments
would damage the integrity of the resource or diminish its interpre-
tive value. Today, restoration and reconstruction typically are under-
taken only when extensive documentation of the resource's past form
exists, and when the replacement of missing elements or the loss of
features from other periods in the property's history is absolutely
essential to interpreting the historical significance of the property.
Rehabilitation, a treatment that occupies a middle ground between
preservation and restoration, is probably the most common treatment 1966, U.S. Code, vol. 4, title 16, sec. 470
approach. Rehabilitation allows the retention (and in some cases, (1970).
"National Historic Preservation Act of
297
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Four Levels of Treatment for Historic Properties
Preservation- the act or process of applying measures necessary to sustain the existing form,
integrity, and materials of an historic property. Work, including preliminary measures to protect and
stabilize the property, generally focuses upon the ongoing maintenance and repair of historic materials
and features rather than extensive replacement and new construction. New exterior additions are not
within the scope of this treatment; however, the limited and sensitive upgrading of mechanical, electrical,
and plumbing systems and other code-required work to make properties functional is appropriate within a
preservation project.
Rehabilitation- toe act or process of making possible a compatible use for a property through repair,
alterations, and additions while preserving those portions or features which convey its historical, cultural,
or architectural values.
Restoration- toe act or process of accurately depicting the form, features, and character of a property
as it appeared at a particular period of time by means of the removal of features from other periods In Its
history and reconstruction of missing features from the restoration period. The limited and sensitive
upgrading of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems and other code-required work to make
properties functional is appropriate within a restoration project.
Reconstruction- toe act or process of depicting, by means of new construction, the form, features,
and detailing of a non-surviving site, landscape, building, structure, or object for the purpose of
replicating its appearance at a specific period of time and in its historic location.
SOURCE: CharlesA. Birnbaum, ed., with Christine Capella P eters, 77ie Secretary of : the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic
Properties, with Guidelines for the Treatmentof Cultural Landscapes (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service,
1996).
Charles A. Birnbaum, ed., with
Christine Capella Peters, The Secretary of
the Interior's Standards for Historic
Preservation Projects with Guidelines for the
Treatment of Cultural Landscapes
(Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of
the Interior, National Park Service,
1996), 6-11.
restoration) of a property's character-defining features, while making
the property functional for contemporary uses. Although each treat-
ment approach is distinctive in purpose and methods, all share an
underlying goal of not arresting change altogether, but rather direct-
ing change so as to maintain continuity of a historic property's
physical integrity and associative value(s). The four approaches simply
differ in the manner in which they seek to manage change.
In determining an appropriate treatment for a historic re-
source, managers balance many factors, including a property's relative
historical significance, its historical integrity and current physical
condition, its geographical context, the extent and reliability of
historical documentation, and the property's interpretive potential. A
number of technical and functional issues also are taken into account,
such as the property's use, management and maintenance require-
ments, accessibility constraints, health and safety considerations,
environmental protection requirements, and energy efficiency 40 For
complex resources, like cultural landscapes, a combination of more
than one treatment approach may be employed. Treatment approaches
may differ according to the integrity of various landscape elements, or
the contemporary function of the landscape as a whole or its compo-
nent landscapes. In each case, however, cultural resource managers
298
Cultural Landscape Management Recommendations
must address the fundamental problem of how to best achieve a
balance between continuity and change.
Treatment of cultural resources within units of the National
Park Service is directed by guidelines contained in chapter 5 of NPS
Management Policies (1988) and NPS -28, Cultural Resource Management
Guideline, Release No. 4, 1994, National Park Service. 41 In striking a
sustainable equilibrium between historical continuity and change,
one of the key issues that cultural landscape managers must con-
sider is the role played by natural processes. Although such consid-
erations typically are associated with "natural resources manage-
ment," maintaining the functional integrity of natural systems and
protecting natural resources from degradation or loss are important
factors in cultural landscape management, as well.
NPS Wilderness
Management
Statutory and Policy Framework
In the United States, one of the most important accomplishments in
the realm of environmental conservation was enactment of the
Wilderness Act of 1964. The intent of the Wilderness Act was to
"assure that an increasing population, accompanied by expanding
settlement and growing mechanization, does not occupy and modify
all areas within the United States and its possessions, leaving no
lands designated for preservation and protection in their natural
condition." 42 To accomplish this end, the Act established a National
Wilderness Preservation System, which was to consist of federally-
owned areas that were designated by Congress as "wilderness areas."
Among other criteria, wilderness areas were required to be roadless
areas of at least five thousand contiguous acres. The Act instructed
the Secretary of the Interior to review all such areas within the NPS
system and report to the President on the suitability for preservation
as wilderness. 43
41 National Park Service, Management
Policies, 5:1-15; Department of the
Interior, National Park Service, NPS-28,
Cultural Resource Management Guideline,
Release No. 4 (Washington, D.C.: U.S.
Department of the Interior, National
Park Service, 1994).
42 Wilderness Act of 1964, U.S. Code, vol.
4, title 16, sec. 11 31 (a) (1970).
4i Ibid, sees. 1131(c), 1132(c).
299
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
44 Department of the Interior, National
Park Service, NPS-77: Natural Resources
Management Guideline (Washington,
D.C.: U.S. Department of the Interior,
National Park Service, 1991), 1:4. The
National Park Service currently is
reviewing and updating its "wilderness
management policies. This effort is
being coordinated by the National
Wilderness Steering Committee, and
will result in the implementation of
new agency-wide Wilderness Guidelines.
A draft of the revised guideknes, which
"was circulated for review during summer
1997, identified cultural resources as a
"critical issue," and may signal a change
in direction in terms of cultural
resources and wilderness management
philosophy. See National Wilderness
Steering Committee, "Draft NPS
Wilderness Guidelines," 14 May 1997.
45 National Park Service, NPS-77, 1:1-2.
46 Ibid.,l:l,3.
,4:10.
,4:10.
49 A separate plan is not required for
areas "where "wilderness designation is
pending in Congress. In such situations
the recommendation provides the
management direction. This is the case
at Sleeping Bear Dunes.
Treatment of wilderness areas in the national park system is
currently guided by Chapter 6 of the NPS Management Policies (1988)
and by directives such as NPS-77: Natural Resources Management
Guideline (1991), which interpret the management and accountability
mandates imposed by the 1964 Wilderness Act. The NPS Manage-
ment Policies "constitutes the basic Servicewide policy document and,
as such provides the overall foundation for management actions
within the Service." The NPS guidelines are intended to provide
more detailed interpretation of the management policies, and to
help NPS managers "implement policy consistently on a
Servicewide basis." 44
National park units typically are divided into distinct,
standardized management districts that relate to the predominant or
most highly-valued character of a particular area, e.g., natural,
cultural, or special use zones. In natural zones, "the primary objec-
tive of management is to protect the natural resources and values in
as natural a condition as possible, while allowing for their enjoyment
by current generations and ensuring their availability for future
generations." To this end, natural resources management may
"maintain, restore, and perpetuate" the "inherent integrity" of
natural environments "which are evolving through natural processes
minimally influenced by humans." 45 The NPS defines "natural
resources" to include physical elements such as "native plants and
animals, water, air, soils, topographic features, geologic features,
paleontologic resources," and also less tangible qualities as "natural
quiet, and clear night skies." NPS management policies further
define "natural conditions" to mean "those that would have existed
today in the absence of the effects of European man [sic]." 46
The NPS partitions natural resource management into six
major activities: (1) research; (2) mitigation of potential and realized
adverse effects of humans (which encompasses preservation and
restoration activities); (3) monitoring; (4) protection; (5) interpreta-
tion, and (6) administration. The current NPS-77: Natural Resources
Management Guideline notes that wilderness generally occurs in areas
designated, for management purposes, as "natural" zones, although
limited acreage may exist in cultural or special use zones. 47 NPS
management emphasizes the "scientific value" of wilderness areas,
which presumably is derived "from their undisturbed natural condi-
tion and from the wealth of biological diversity they contain." 48
Each unit of the national park system is mandated to develop a
wilderness management plan, and to appoint a wilderness manage-
ment coordinator who is responsible for developing and implement-
ing the plan. The park superintendent is ultimately accountable for
ensuring that the plan complies with the Wilderness Act. In addi-
tion, all plans must be reviewed and approved by the regional and
Washington, D.C., offices of the NPS. 49
300
Cultural Landscape Management Recommendations
Wilderness Management: Conventions of
Interpretation and Practice
Consideration of cultural resources, as implied in the language of
the 1964 Wilderness Act and, consequently, as considered in NPS
wilderness management policies, is ambiguous. The NPS wilderness
management approach seems to leave little room for cultural re-
source preservation, stating unequivocally that "only those practices
compatible with preservation of wilderness values are permissible"
within wilderness areas, and allowing for the maintenance of "only
those structures necessary for meeting the purposes of maintaining
the enduring resource of wilderness." 50 Human-made structures are
permitted within wilderness areas only if they meet the "minimum
tool" requirement, i.e., the "minimum necessary for health and
safety" of wilderness visitors or the protection of resources. Facili-
ties that exceed the "minimum tool" criteria are to be removed, and
the site "restored to its natural state." 51 The guidelines make some
accommodation of "small boat docks, water guzzlers and primitive
shelters," however, a specific provision for the retention of these
elements must be included in the proposed legislation for the
wilderness area. Landscape management practices such as con-
trolled burning also must be specifically mentioned. 52 The NPS
Management Policies advise that if the preservation of a historic
feature "would result in the imprint of man's work being substan-
tially noticeable, . . . the feature should not be included in wilder-
ness." 53
Although the guidelines recommend that areas containing
significant cultural resources should not be designated as wilderness
areas, the practice of designating "altered lands" {i.e., cultural
landscapes) as "potential wilderness," increases the likelihood that
significant cultural resources may be subjected to wilderness man-
agement policies. For management purposes, "altered lands" are
defined as "lands that have been logged, farmed, grazed, or other-
wise utilized in ways not involving extensive development or
alteration of the landscape." Such lands may be "considered for
wilderness if at the time of study the effects of these activities are
substantially unnoticeable or their wilderness character could be
restored through appropriate management actions." 54
The primary management goal in "potential wilderness"
areas is the elimination of the conditions that preclude wilderness
designation. Strict adherence to this approach would seem to doom
many cultural resources within wilderness and potential wilderness
areas. However, the NPS Management Policies states that:
50 National Park Service, NPS -77, 4:10.
... an area that attracts visitors primarily for the enjoy- 51 „ . , , , r
ment of solitude and unconfined recreation in a primi-
1 52 jh 'A zL-1 f
tive setting may also contain historic features and still be ' : '
included in wilderness. Typical historic features that may 53 Ibid., 6:2-3.
be included are archaeological sites, historic trails, travel ^ Ibid, 6:2.
301
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
55 Ibid., 6:2-3.
56 Ibid, 6:5, 7.
5/ Ibid., 6:4. Text italicized by authors.
58 Jfc/, 6:7.
59 National Wilderness Steering
Committee, "Draft NPS Wilderness
Guidelines," 14 May 1997, 15.
routes, battle sites, and minor structures. Historic trails
may serve and be maintained as part of the wilderness
trail system. However, if the planned scope and standard
of maintenance would result in the imprint of man's
work being substantially noticeable, the trail or other
feature should not be included in wilderness. 55
The current policies assert that the maintenance of historic features
in wilderness areas shall "comply with cultural resource protection
policies," and that cultural resource protection objectives may
legitimize the maintenance of an existing shelter. 56 Furthermore,
wilderness management plans, which are mandatory for all wilder-
ness units within the NPS system, are required to contain "...
measurable management objectives that address the preservation of
wilderness-dependent cultural ■And. natural resources and values ,.." 57
Most significantly, the policies state that historic resources within
wilderness areas shall be "protected and maintained using methods
that are consistent with the preservation of wilderness character
and values and cultural resource protection requirements." 58
The content and tone of most wilderness management
policies and guidelines indeed suggest that wilderness designation
limits cultural resource management (CRM) in wilderness areas. As
the above citations demonstrate, however, the existing policies do
not outright preclude the protection and management of cultural
resources within wilderness areas. A directive in the revised NPS
wilderness guidelines, which currently are in draft form, provides an
even stronger impetus for cultural resources management within
wilderness areas:
NPS managers shall maintain an affirmative cultural
resource management program in wilderness The
cultural resource management tasks within wilderness
are the same as those elsewhere, but these sites must
additionally be treated in a manner sensitive to wilder-
ness resources and character. 59
Rather than "significantly limiting" cultural resource management,
the guidelines imply that preservation interventions should be
limited in scope by the minimum tool principle, and that specific
treatment techniques should respect wilderness values. Therefore,
resource managers might strive accordingly for a compromise
treatment between wilderness and cultural resource management
objectives.
The extent to which cultural resource management is limited
in wilderness areas may derive more from the ways in which wilder-
ness management policies are customarily interpreted, than from the
actual content of the polices themselves. Such management poli-
cies, after all, provide only guidance, and are necessarily open to
interpretation as specific circumstances warrant. One might reason-
ably suggest, therefore, that cultural resource management within
wilderness areas should take into account the significance, condi-
302
Cultural Landscape Management Recommendations
tion, interpretive value, and research potential of individual cultural
resources, as well as the distinctive wilderness values of the area.
Certainly, management decisions should not be made before all
available data about the impacted resources have been considered.
Some Ideological Dimensions of Current
Management Conflicts
The fate of North Manitou Island's cultural landscapes is bound up
in questions of appropriate management strategies for resources in
wilderness areas. NPS wilderness management policies reflect an
ambiguous, if not ambivalent or hostile, attitude toward cultural
resources, or "examples of man's presence" in the landscape. At the
other end of the management spectrum, the legislated mechanisms
for historic preservation seem to provide little accommodation of
wild nature and wilderness values. The central dilemma encountered
in places like North Manitou Island is that the current institutional
and legal framework for both wilderness preservation and historic
preservation are predicated on landscape ideals that do not exist in
reality. The 1964 Wilderness Act posits an imaginary, wild landscape
that is totally free of human influence, and represents wilderness as
something that exists completely outside of, and forever separate
from, humanity. In contrast, the policies and regulations promul-
gated by the National Park Service under the National Historic
Preservation Act of 1966 recognize only those parts of the world
that, to borrow the terminology of the Wilderness Act, bear the
"imprint of man [sic]." The conventional approach to cultural
resource management has emphasized human works to an extent
that leaves little room for those elements of the landscape that exist
outside the human realm. Both viewpoints essentially deny that
humans are part of nature.
The presumed alienation of humanity from the rest of
nature is evident in the language of the 1964 Wilderness Act,
whereby "natural condition" is defined in opposition to human
civilization. The Act states that a wilderness area is:
... in contrast with those areas where man [sic] and his
own works dominate the landscape, ... an area where
the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by
man, where man himself is a visitor who does not
remain. 60
As this passage demonstrate, there is a strong aesthetic basis to the
Wilderness Act. An area that has been utilized or modified by
humans (i.e., a cultural landscape) may be considered for wilderness
designation if it ". . . generally appears to have been affected prima-
rily by the forces of nature, with the imprint of man's [sic] work
substantially unnotkeable ..." 61 The definition thus emphasizes how a
landscape is perceived by a viewer, rather than intrinsic qualities of
wildness. This definition also is essentially anti-historical because it
effectively denies that such landscapes have a human history. As
60 Wilderness Act of 1964, U.S. Code, vol.
4, title 16, sec. 1131(c) (1970).
61 Wilderness Act of 1964, U.S. Code, vol.
4, title 1 6, sec. 1 1 3 1 (c) (1 970) . Text
italicized by authors.
303
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
02 William Cronon, "The Trouble with
Wilderness," in William Cronon, ed.,
Uncommon Ground: Toward Reinventing
Nature (New York: W. W. Norton,
1995), 76-80.
63 National Park Service, NPS-77, 1:3.
The basic reference for NPS policy is the
agency's Management Policy (1988). The
"Guidelines" provide more specific
guidance relative to special management
topics.
noted by environmental historian William Cronon and others, the
popular conception of wilderness, which is reflected in the language
of the Wilderness Act, incorporates a kind of mythic timelessness,
and a denial of human history 62
This ahistorical quality of the wilderness definition is not
just an ideological issue, for it also is incorporated into National
Park Service wilderness policies. For example, NPS-77: Natural
Resources Management Guideline (1991), defines "natural conditions" as
"those that would have existed today in the absence of the effects
of European man [sic]." 63 Landscapes that have been utilized by
Euro-Americans, according to this definition, exhibit "unnatural"
conditions. In practice, such a definition essentially entails a
reconceptualization of the landscape's history to exclude the activi-
ties and impacts of Euro-Americans. Thus, landscapes that were
created by humans are interpreted as embodying non-human nature.
Yet the viewpoint reflected in historic preservation practice
is nearly as static and, ironically, as ahistorical as that of the Wilder-
ness Act. The objective of many cultural resource management
interventions is to reverse deterioration caused by natural processes
and prevent further decay. However, in preserving, restoring, or
recreating the appearance of an earlier era, the passage of time and
the effects of natural processes are denied. The management goal is
to perpetuate the resource in a particular "historical" state for as
long as possible. Taken to the extreme, resources are represented as
existing in a state of timelessness, reflecting the era and cultural
milieu in which they were produced, rather than the current mo-
ment. Other treatments, such as rehabilitation, allow for material
alterations in order to accommodate change, but nonetheless seek to
perpetuate certain physical characteristics, and remain hostile to the
deteriorating processes of nature.
When one considers both of these resource management
strategies, other commonalties become apparent. Enacted within
only two years of each other, both acts express a pessimistic out-
look on the environmental effects of human activities in a modern
technological society. Both wilderness and cultural resource preser-
vation effectively employ the "minimum impact" concept: preserva-
tion of the resource is of the utmost importance, and measures are
undertaken to ensure that human actions have minimal adverse
impact on the resource. Finally, both wilderness and cultural re-
source preservation are fundamentally concerned with the perpetua-
tion of associative values that have a strong aesthetic dimension.
At a basic level, it must be admitted that preservation of
both wilderness and historic resources serve human purposes.
Although the Wilderness Act mentions "the earth and its commu-
nity of life," its purpose is essentially anthropocentric. The Act
implies that wilderness is a "resource" to be utilized by humans.
Indeed, "wilderness areas," according to the Act, "shall be adminis-
304
Cultural Landscape Management Recommendations
tered for the use and enjoyment of the American people in such a
manner as will leave them unimpaired for future use and enjoyment
as wilderness, and so as to provide for the protection of these areas,
the preservation of their wilderness character, and for the gathering
and dissemination of information regarding their use and enjoyment
as wilderness." 64 Wilderness areas are to possess "outstanding
opportunities for solitude or a primitive and unconfmed type of
recreation," and may "contain ecological, geological, or other
features of scientific, educational, scenic, or historical value." 65
The two approaches differ most significantly in what they
define as a "resource." The National Register of Historic Places
emphasizes human beings and, in a larger sense, human culture as
the generator of the most highly-valued aesthetic qualities of the
environment. In contrast, the Wilderness Act values non-human
nature as the generator of similar, if not entirely parallel, environ-
mental qualities. The conceptual dichotomy underlying the segrega-
tion of "cultural" and "natural" management policies masks the
extent to which human and non-human systems are intertwined, and
is most clearly apparent in the contrast between cultural landscape
and wilderness management approaches. Cultural landscape and
wilderness management philosophy essentially differ according to
the ways natural and cultural systems are defined.
Both wilderness and cultural resource management policies
are developed for landscapes that exist at opposing ends of a
landscape continuum. Although examples may exist which nearly
exemplify these two extremes, the vast majority of landscapes in the
public realm exist somewhere between the two poles, and those that
most nearly represent the middle of the continuum are truly prob-
lematic for landscape managers. Currently, the typical management
strategy under both wilderness and cultural resources rubrics is to
deny the "middleness" of such landscapes and nominally designate
them as one or the other — that is, as either cultural or wilderness
landscapes. Specific management techniques are then prescribed
according to this nominal designation. Such an approach suggests
that these middle landscapes are of lesser value than the "pure"
examples that define either end of the continuum. The consequence
of this strategy is that the mythical depth and the metaphorical
richness of the natural and cultural worlds has been neutralized in
such places.
The problem with basing landscape-level management deci-
sions on such a bipolar conception is that neither ideal exists. Land-
scapes are neither completely wild, nor completely anthropogenic.
Thus, in the real world, the two landscape management philosophies
are unavoidably cast in opposition to one another. Wilderness man-
agement assumes human activities to be universally harmful to non-
human nature, and therefore seeks to eliminate or minimize the
influence of humans on natural systems. In contrast, cultural resource
management considers both nature and humans to be partners in the
64 Wilderness Ad of 1964, U.S. Code, vol.
4, title 16, sec. 11 31 (a) (1970).
65 Wilderness Act of 1964, U.S. Code, vol.
4, title 16, sec. 1131(c) (1970).
305
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
66 National Park Service, Management
Policies, 5:5.
67 National Park Service, General
Management Plan, 5.
creation and maintenance of the landscape. Yet cultural resource
management practices place utmost value on those elements that
possess "significance" relative to an interpretation of the landscape's
human history, and acknowledge non-human processes only when
they do not conflict or interfere with that interpretation. Management
interventions often seek to inhibit and minimize the effects of time
and natural processes.
Current agency policies provide no clear direction for resolv-
ing apparent conflicts that arise between these two realms of
landscape management philosophy, other than to suggest that one
approach must take precedence over the other. For example, the
NPS Management Policies for cultural resources concede that
"achievement of other park purposes may sometimes conflict with
and outweigh the value of cultural resource preservation." In such
cases, "the resource will ... be permitted to deteriorate naturally,
unless its destruction or direct removal is necessary for public safety
or to eliminate an unacceptable intrusion." 66 Such a black-or-white
approach may work in landscapes that lie closer to the two ideals,
but it is ill-suited to the landscapes that fall in between — the "po-
tential wilderness" areas, the scores of "natural-looking" landscapes
that are the creations of human imagination and toil.
Perhaps no category of landscapes is as suited to a compro-
mise management strategy as "middle landscapes" such as North
Manitou Island — landscapes that possess both a rich human history
and spectacular qualities of non-human nature. The overlap of
cultural and natural, or wilderness landscape is expressed profoundly
in the forests, clearings, and dune landscapes of North Manitou
Island. North Manitou could be managed and interpreted as a
landscape for probing the cusp between lived human experience and
the reality of the non-human world. This prospect, however, can be
realized only if the island is understood as a cultural landscape, a
place created and defined by human actions and ideas.
Such a shift in orientation does not call for a repeal of the
island's wilderness designation, but it does imply a greater apprecia-
tion of the island's human history, and recognition of the landscape
as a constructed wilderness. In fact, acknowledgment and interpre-
tation of North Manitou Island as a cultural landscape is wholly
consistent with the interpretive program that was defined for Sleep-
ing Bear Dunes National Lakeshore nearly thirty years ago. That
strategy, which stressed the interlinkage of natural and human
history, was somehow lost when specific plans for North Manitou
Island were developed. Perhaps now is the time to rethink the ways
in which "the story of the many landforms and natural environ-
ments, which combine to make a scenically diverse and interesting
terrain, are complemented by the history of settlement and the use
of the land and water." 67 And perhaps North Manitou Island is a
landscape for doing just that.
306
Cultural Landscape Management Recommendations
General
Recommendations for
Resource Management on
North Manitou Island
Effective planning entails a never-ending process of reflection,
evaluation, and revision. This is especially true when the object of a
plan is an entity as complex and dynamic as a landscape. Just as a
landscape constantly changes in response to human and non-human
influences, so too do our perceptions and understanding of that
landscape. Given that the natural and cultural realms of our world
are in a endless state of flux, no plan can be expected to remain
potent in perpetuity, no matter how well-thought out, and no matter
how small a piece of the world it encompasses. Unless a plan also
changes in response to external factors, it becomes out-dated,
irrelevant, useless.
The National Park Service's 1987 Development Concept
Plan/Interpretive Prospectus for North Manitou Island is a docu-
ment that was prepared for a landscape that was, at the time, little
understood by agency planners and the public. The island was, in
many ways, a terra incognita. Moreover, the concept "cultural land-
scape" was only beginning to gain currency among NPS planners in
1987, and had provided a basis for planning in only a couple of
prototypical cases. 68 This is not to suggest that the North Manitou
DCP/IP resulted from an entirely arbitrary and flawed process. On
the contrary, the DCP/IP was derived from the best available data
about the island's natural and cultural resources, and it was consis-
tent with the island's popular image as a remote wilderness land-
scape. However, a scheme that "fit" the predominant perception
and understanding of North Manitou in 1987, seems less well-suited
to the island landscape that we behold and experience today.
The current visitor experience of North Manitou Island is
defined by its human history, not by abstract, arbitrarily applied
concepts of wilderness. Although it is hoped, and expected, that
visitors develop a greater appreciation of the beauty and intrinsic
value of non-human nature on North Manitou, they inevitably
experience the nature within a cultural landscape setting. Indeed, the
cultural landscape provides the framework, the orientation points,
the pathways, that structure visitors' encounters with nature. Once
they arrive on the islands, visitors do not roam the island aimlessly.
Rather, visitors inevitably structure their island adventures as time
spent at, or traveling between, a series of destinations (figure 6.1).
The 1994 camping experience of journalist Mark Stone may
be typical. After landing at North Manitou Village, Stone "had big
ideas that first afternoon of striking out across the middle of the
island to the site of an old settlement on the western shore called
Crescent City." Instead, Stone set up camp at the campground near
the northern edge of the village clearing, and from there "made
68 A deliberate attempt to develop an
NPS resource planning process based on
the cultural landscape concept began in
1980, and culminated in a manual
authored by Robert Z. Melnick, "with
Daniel Sponn and Emma Jane Saxe,
titled Cultural Landscapes: Rural Historic
Districts in the National Park System
(Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of
the Interior, National Park Service,
1984). This report outkned the scope
and purpose of a cultural landscape
report (CLR), and provided the basis for
the CLR guidelines that "were incorpo-
rated into NPS-28 in 1985. The first
National Register of Historic Places
bulletin to focus specifically on rural
vernacular landscapes did not appear
until 1990. See Linda Flint McClelland, J.
Timothy Keller, Genevieve P. Keller,
and Robert Z. Melnick, National Register
Bulletin 30: Guidelines for Evaluating and
Documenting Rural Historic Landscapes
(Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
the Interior, National Park Service,
1990). Some of the early attempts to
apply the Melnick et al. cultural landscape
model to specific NPS units during the
late 1980s include Cumberland Island
National Seashore, Georgia; Buffalo
National River, Arkansas, and Ebey's
Landing National Historical Reserve,
Washington. See Katherine Ahern,
Cultural Landscape Bibliography: An
Annotated Bibliography on Resources in the
NationalPark System, Leslie H. Blythe
and Robert R. Page, eds. (Washington,
DC: U.S. Department of the Interior,
National Park Service, 1992).
307
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 6.1. The relict cultural landscapes of
North Manitou Island provide contemporary
visitors with diverse aesthetic experiences,
and represent intriguing destinations for
exploration and temporary inhabitation.
59 Mark Stone, "Sweet Isolation: The
Pristine Quietude of North Manitou,"
The Gazette (Elk Rapids, Mich.), 24 June
1994,1.
70 IUd.,21,22.
71 Colleen Kalchik, "Manitou: You Can
Feel the Energy on Lake Michigan's
Spirit Islands," Northern Express
(Traverse City, Mich.), 12 July 1995, 4-5.
several hiking excursions to distant points on the island." 69 He hiked
northward along the shoreline to the former site of the Maleski
family fishing camp, then traveled on one of the trails to the Adam
and Mary Maleski farmstead, and then returned to his camp site in
"an old apple orchard." Before departing for the mainland, Stone
"wandered around the buildings maintained by the Park Service for
rangers." 70 Freelance writer Colleen Kalchik recorded a similar
experience. After arriving at North Manitou Village, she and her
companion enjoyed a walk through the fields behind the village.
Kalchik's party then hiked through the woods until they entered a
clearing where they lingered, eating wild strawberries. They camped
"on a ridge at the edge of a vast meadow that was once the site of
Crescent City." The next day they hiked to Tamarack Lake, and then
continued to the beach. 71
As these accounts illustrate, island visitors structure their
experiences in relation to the existing cultural landscape, which
includes both cultural and natural features. Places such as the
former Crescent townsite, and the Frederickson, Johnson, and John
Maleski places, represent important landmarks that function as both
waymarkers and destinations. The edges of these clearings are
among the island's most popular camping sites. Ironically, the
current DCP/IP calls for the eventual elimination of many fea-
tures — cultural landmarks and destinations — that island visitors find
most interesting. If fully implemented, the NPS vision would
transform most of the island into a vast expanse of deciduous
hardwood forest.
When the NPS developed the North Manitou Island DCP/
IP, relatively few people expressed either support or opposition to
the agency's proposals. Perhaps this was because the island's natural
beauty, its human history, and its enigmatic cultural landscapes were
all but unknown to the general public. The island had been closed
from the public for more than half a century, accessible only to a
308
Cultural Landscape Management Recommendations
select group of individuals (figure 6.2). Most of these people, almost
all of them socially privileged white males, knew the island only as a
playground. Some of these men had marginal connections with the
island to begin with, and by the mid-1980s many were deceased, or
had little interest in future plans for the island. North Manitou was a
place without a past. It was also a place without a vocal constituency.
Rita Hadra Rusco, one of only a few people who had a long-standing
relationship with the island landscape, was a lonely voice calling
attention to the North Manitou's rich and varied human history and
its notable cultural features. She provided the agency with extensive
comments, but her pleas for preservation and interpretation of the
island's cultural landscapes went unheeded.
More than a decade after the North Manitou Island DCP/IP
was approved, the island now has many advocates who share
Rusco's deep-seated understanding and affection for North
Manitou's human history and cultural landscapes. The island has
slowly gained a larger constituency, both within the NPS and among
countless park visitors — people who are familiar with the island's
distinctive sense of place and who care deeply about its future.
Although North Manitou Island certainly has evolved during the
years since the DCP/IP was approved, the landscape may have
changed significantly less than our ability to see and interpret it. The
following general recommendations apply to the island as a whole:
♦♦♦Update and Revise the North Manitou Island
DCP/IP
The NPS should reconsider the appropriateness of the 1987 North
Manitou DCP/IP in light of the shift that has occurred in our
understanding of the island's history and its resources, as well as the
greater public awareness and appreciation of these resources that
have accrued since the plan was developed. Recent NPS activities
Figure 6.2. For several decades, North
Manitou Island was accessible primarily to
an elite class of men, mostofwhom used
the island for recreation during brief periods
of time. Until the N PS opened the island to
the public in the mid-1980s, North Manitou
remained a landscape of "mystery and
tremendous silences."
309
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
72 See the following chapter for an
assessment of recent public opinion
regarding cultural resources manage-
ment and interpretation on North
Manitou Island.
7j Michigan State Historic Preservation
Officer to Superintendent, Sleeping Bear
Dunes National Lakeshore, 1 December
1994.
and projects (e.g., the North Manitou Island photovoltaic array system)
have departed from specific elements of the plan. Furthermore,
comments contributed by park visitors since the late 1980s consis-
tently have questioned the NPS treatment of cultural resources and
the minimal interpretation of human history on the island. 72 The
Michigan State Historic Preservation Office has called for a thorough
revision of the North Manitou Island DCP/IP. 73
♦♦♦Develop an Interpretive Program for North
Manitou Island that Fully Integrates Human
History
In reevaluating the North Manitou DCP/IP, the NPS should strive
to understand the island as a cultural landscape that has both
historical and contemporary cultural dimensions. Specifically, the
NPS should undertake assessments of the island's place in Ameri-
can Indian and Euro-American folklore and literature, its history as
a recreational landscape (e.g., the historical development of private
summer cottages, the Manitou Island Association's sport hunting
business), its history as a site for ecological experimentation and
research (e.g., vegetation research carried out by H. N. Whitford,
Henry C. Cowles and the NPS, and wildlife studies undertaken by
Robert T. Hatt, I. H. Bartlett, and the NPS), and the island's role as
part of a larger historic maritime landscape. Interpretation focus on
the cultural landscapes, rather than an idealized wilderness land-
scape. The approach should offer visitors an accurate portrayal of
the North Manitou Island's human history, and it should embrace
the evocative power of the island's ruins (figures 6.3 and 6.4).
Effective interpretation of the island's human history need
not compromise the qualities of primitiveness and solitude that
formed the basis of the original NPS development concept for
North Manitou Island. Extensive signage, trail markers, and other
physical or visually intrusive interpretive aids are not necessary.
Rather, the NPS should ensure that the island's human history and
its cultural landscape are interpreted to the public through publica-
tions, maps, and occasional presentations and demonstrations. The
NPS should establish a small interpretive center at North Manitou
Village, perhaps in one of the Cottage Row structures. The center
should include exhibits of historic island artifacts and photographs,
and might be staffed by volunteers on an as-available basis. A small
interpretive facility could be accommodated in one of the existing
historic structures of the village, and should not be considered to
exceed the "minimum tool" required for proper interpretation of
North Manitou Island's natural and cultural resources. The NPS or
park volunteers periodically might offer slide presentations dealing
with an overview, or specific aspects, of the island's natural and
human history. In addition, two village structures — the 1854 Volun-
teer Rescue Station and the MIA sawmill — should be restored and
regularly opened to the public. As part of the National Maritime
310
Cultural Landscape Management Recommendations
Figure 6.3. J ohn Newhall cottage shortly
after its construction in the early 1900s.
Figure 6.4. J ohn Newhall cottage interior, 1997. "Discovery sites"such as this encourage
visitors to pose questions aboutthe human history associated with the landscape around
them. Instead of ignoring these silent, enigmatic vestiges of the past, the NPS should provide
interpetive aids that help visitors understand the island's human history, and prompt additional
questions aboutthe present relationship of history to nature.
311
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
74 Stakeholder groups also should be
identified and incorporated into the
planning process. Some of these groups
may enter into formal, partner relation-
ships "with the NPS to assist in achieving
plan objectives. Giving such groups an
active role in the planning process
increases the likelihood of successful
partnerships in the future. Several
organizations, including Preserve
Historic Sleeping Bear, the Timber
Reamers Guild, Michigan Barn Preserva-
tion Network, and Sierra Club chapters,
already have expressed interest in
assisting the NPS with cultural resource
preservation projects on the island.
75 The authors gratefully acknowledge
NPS reviewers Kim Mann, Maria
McEnaney, Theora McVay, and Sherda
Williams for encouraging this approach,
and suggesting this example.
75 National Park Service, General
Management Plan, 5.
Initiative Landscape District study, the NPS also should consider the
potential restoration and interpretation of one of the Cottage Row
summer houses.
♦♦♦Review Wilderness Management Techniques in
Relation to Visitors' Experiences and Expectations
Lastly, the NPS should examine the cultural basis of the wilderness
concept, and determine how well suited certain wilderness manage-
ment techniques are to the North Manitou landscape and the
expectations and desires of island visitors. In attempting to delin-
eate common ground between the cultural landscape and wilderness
ideals, the NPS should identify the attributes and qualities of the
North Manitou landscape that are most highly cherished by island
visitors. This evaluation could include responses from visitors
obtained through a systematic survey 74 It seems likely that desired
landscape experiences, such as a "sense of mystery," a "feeling of
discovery," or a picturesque view, are connected to both natural {i.e.,
wilderness) and cultural resources on the island. The planning effort
should focus foremost on these intangible qualities and, by exten-
sion, deal with specific landscape elements. Such an approach may
serve to highlight which wilderness values are particularly appropri-
ate for management on North Manitou Island, and may suggest
points of convergence between natural and cultural resources
management objectives. For example, preservation of a sense of
"isolation" is highly compatible with the cultural resource recom-
mendations presented in this report. 75
Focused scrutiny of the intangible qualities of North
Manitou's landscape also may inspire new directions for interpreta-
tion — approaches that more fully express the island's genius loci and
come closer to the national lakeshore's stated objective of present-
ing natural history and human history as "inseparable parts of the
interpretive story" 76 Again, it seems likely that this approach would
highlight the extent to which nature and culture are intertwined in
landscapes like North Manitou. NPS interpretation might build
upon points of convergence, and emphasize historical continuities.
For example, the environmental attributes of "primitive character,"
"relatively large size" the cultural value of "solitude" — which were
recognized by the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore GMP
and the North Manitou Island DCP/IP — are not recent discoveries.
These qualities have been appreciated by the region's native inhabit-
ants, by nineteenth-century travelers, poets, and recreationists, and
by early-twentieth-century industrialists, ecologists, and sportsmen.
The "wilderness" landscapes of North Manitou Island
indeed may inspire an appreciation of the island's natural beauty
and isolation, but the historical depth and cultural roots of such
perceptions are revealed in landscapes like Cottage Row and the
Bournique summer residence — cultural landscapes that were, in part,
inspired by aesthetic ideals that remain potent today. Likewise,
312
Cultural Landscape Management Recommendations
visitors may encounter "a feeling of self-reliance" not only in land-
scapes where "the imprint of man's [sic] work is substantially unno-
ticeable," but also at the abandoned subsistence farmsteads of the
Nerland-Anderson or Maleski families. If visitors come to such sites
with an awareness of the difficulties encountered by the island's
immigrant farmers during the nineteenth century they may leave with
a new and deeper appreciation of what "self-reliance" means in an
"inaccessible" landscape like North Manitou Island.
Experiences of the kind described above can be encouraged
only if resource managers recognize the expressive power of the
North Manitou landscape as it currently exists, not as it might exist if
it more closely approximated a wilderness or cultural landscape
ideal. The DCP/IP revision process should strive to respectfully
integrate current understanding of the island's human and non-
human history into a unified landscape management and interpreta-
tion strategy. Because they are interrelated, resource management and
interpretation must be considered in tandem. 77
Specific Treatment
Recommendations for
Cultural Resources
The remainder of this chapter outlines some specific treatment and
management recommendations for historically significant resources
on North Manitou Island, with special attention given to those
elements associated with the island's agricultural history. In each
case, the recommended approach takes into account the historical
significance and the interpretive potential of the resource, as well as
the preservation of wilderness values. Several of the recommended
treatments represent a departure from current management practices
on North Manitou Island. Although some of the proposed measures
are not typical practices in wilderness areas, neither are they incom-
patible with wilderness values or wholly inconsistent with NPS
wilderness management polices. Likewise, a few of the recom-
mended treatments represent unconventional CRM practices.
77 One possible interpretive strategy,
including implications for resource
management, is sketched in Chapter
Seven.
313
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
However, such proposed changes are consistent with the direction
that management philosophy has taken in recent years. They represent
neither a radical departure from, nor maintenance of, the status quo.
Rather, they simply express changes in perspective brought about by
the discovery of new information, and changes in the ways in which
we interpret and value the island's resources, both natural and cultural.
As discussed in the previous chapter, six resources currently
are included, or appear to meet the criteria for inclusion, in the
National Register of Historic Places. These include four districts,
one structure, and one site. In addition, one district — the "Manitou
Island Dunes Historic District" — was identified for additional
research and NRHP evaluation. Treatment and management recom-
mendations for each of these resources are outlined below. In each
case, the suggested treatments take into account the historical
integrity of the resource, its level of significance, interpretive
potential, and, where applicable, compatibility with current wilder-
ness management objectives.
Although specific management strategies are suggested for
each of the three proposed historic districts of North Manitou
Village, treatments should be applied in a manner that is mutually
consistent among the three, as these districts together comprise a
larger whole, and provide visitors with their first impressions of the
island. The current management scheme, which arbitrarily places
Cottage Row and portions of the MIA farm complex outside of a
"wilderness exclusion" area, and which subjects certain structures to
museum-quality restoration while others collapse due to neglect,
reflects neither the visual and spatial unity of the area, nor its
historical role an important locus of human activities ranging from
prehistoric-era hunting and fishing, to Euro-American agriculture,
maritime commerce, logging, and recreation.
Manitou Island Syndicate / Manitou Island
Association North Manitou Village Farm Complex
The MIS/MIA North Manitou Village Farm Complex should be
nominated for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places
together with the AHA West Side Barn as part of a thematic,
Manitou Island Association multiple-resource designation. The
resources of the Manitou Island Syndicate/Manitou Island Associa-
tion Farm Complex district possess varying levels of integrity. The
proposed treatments generally correlate with the level of integrity,
and range from stabilisation to restoration. The necessary investments
related to treatments thus reflect the complexity of the individual
resources and the role they play in the overall district.
314
Cultural Landscape Management Recommendations
Structures
MIA Farm Structures
The extant structures of the district should be rehabilitated and
reused to accommodate NPS maintenance and storage needs. The
village barn, equipment shed, and gasoline shed are currently in use.
Other structures should be stabilised until an appropriate use is
identified. Ruinous structures should be left in place, and the
immediate vicinity cleared of woody vegetation. If additional
equipment storage or maintenance space is required in the vicinity
of the MIA farm complex, the NPS should reconstruct either the
carpenter or machine shop, or both. The reconstructed sheds
should, as closely as possible, recreate the external appearance of
the original structures. In the meantime, the ruins of these struc-
tures should be left in place.
MIA Sawmill
Because of its exceptional integrity, and its statewide level of
historical significance, the MIA sawmill should receive a higher level
of treatment than other structures in the district. The sawmill
should be restored and interpreted to the public. The structure
occasionally should be opened to the public for historical demon-
strations. A museum-quality restoration would be appropriate.
NPS Photovoltaic Array
The photovoltaic array constructed by the National Park Service in
1996 is a modern, visually intrusive structure. The array should be
screened by plantings of low, native shrubs. In addition, an interpre-
tive panel should be added to the site. The panel should explain the
function of the array, and provide some historical interpretation of
the AHA and the surrounding village farm complex.
Landscape Features
Fields and Orchards
The treatment of the former fields and orchards should be preserva-
tion, with the goal of maintaining the current level of spatial defini-
tion in the large clearing surrounding the village. If the historic
district is to remain within the wilderness designation, mechanical
mowing is precluded as a viable maintenance technique. Manage-
ment by fire also is probably not feasible. Cutting invasive woody
vegetation by hand is the method most consistent with the "mini-
mum tool" requirement of NPS wilderness guidelines. Hand cutting
is labor intensive. Fortunately, invasion of the clearing by woody
species has not been rampant. Nonetheless, this management
intervention would represent a cyclical labor commitment that
would have to be repeated every three to five years. The clearing
could be divided into treatment zones, so that only a portion of the
entire area would demand attention during any one year. Because
315
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
hand-cutting does not require special skill, the NPS should attempt to
recruit volunteer labor for this task.
Trees
Historic photographs suggest that vegetation in the vicinity of the
MIA farm complex was never highly manipulated for the sake of
appearance. In the fields and orchards, patterns of vegetation
primarily reflected functional and utilitarian considerations. In the
margins, and around buildings and structures, native disturbance-
adapted vegetation predominated. The most significant historic
vegetation features remaining in the MIA farm vicinity are a row of
large sugar maple trees {Acer sacchamm) that lines the old dock road
near the stone MIA office building, a double row, or allee, of butter-
nut trees (Juglans dnered) flanking the road near the generator build-
ing, and several large clumps of Lombardy poplar (Populus nigra)
trees, which may have been planted among the buildings for orna-
mental purposes. These rows of maple and butternut trees are
visually prominent features, and represent an attempt to use vegeta-
tion for aesthetic effect. Both of these features should be main-
tained and preserved. The full allee of butternuts should be re-estab-
lished at the same location after more than half of the original
plantings have died. Likewise, the row of sugar maples should be
replanted after it has lost more than half of its constituent members.
The Lombardy poplar trees have a distinctive columnar form
and silvery green foliage that shimmers in the breeze on sunny
summer days. Most of the Lombardy poplars are located south of
the farm building cluster, and in the vicinity of the AHA sawmill
(figure 6.5). Historic photographs suggest that the vegetative cover
of Lombardy poplars in the vicinity of the farm complex may be
significantly more dense now than at any previous time. It may be
desirable to thin the existing stands to make them more closely
Figure 6.5. Lombardy poplar grove near
the Manitou Island Association sawmill. Due
to their peculiar uprightgrowth habit, silvery
green foliage, and tendency to propagate
vegetatively, Lombardy poplartrees are the
mostdistinctive features of the North
Manitou Village area. In some areas, the
poplar groves probably are larger and
more dense than they were during the
early twentieth century.
316
Cultural Landscape Management Recommendations
approximate the landscape of the late 1920s. Reducing the densities
of the Lombardy poplar groves would retain them as character-
defining landscape elements, while also opening up views toward
the lake, and allowing glimpses of the historic structures by visitors
who arrive by ferry.
Historic photographs should serve as a guide for any plan to
thin the Lombardy poplar stands. In addition, care should be taken
to leave trees in place where they serve to screen the view of the
modern PV array. Lombardy poplar spreads vegetatively by root
sprouts, often forming dense clonal stands. Because the species
propagates readily from root sprouts, simply cutting individual stems
will not, in the long run, substantially reduce the density of the
stands. In fact, cutting alone may stimulate increased sprout produc-
tion. Lo prevent this, the cut surface of the stump should be treated
with a topical, bio-degradable herbicide, such as glyphosate. Lhis
treatment should be implemented on a limited, experimental basis at
first. Only a very few individuals of a particular stand should be
treated initially, and the effect monitored over a two-year period.
North Manitou Island Life-saving Station
Lhe treatment and management needs of the North Manitou Island
Life-saving Station historic district lie outside the scope of this
report. Lhe historical significance of these resources is derived
primarily from their association with maritime navigation on the
Great Lakes. Interpretation of the island's maritime history should
be centered on the life-saving service district. Lhe district's later
association with the Manitou Island Association and the Angell
Foundation also should be considered, however. Lhe district's
current period of significance, 1854-1932, reflects its national-level
of importance in U.S. maritime history. On the other hand, the
district's overall significance may extend beyond 1932 when the
Manitou Island Association's activities were based there. Before
considering interpretation and treatment alternatives for the
district's resources, the NPS should document and evaluate the
significance of the station's evolution during the MIA and Angell
Foundation era. Critical cultural resource management issues in-
clude the potential exterior restoration of the U.S. Lifeboat Station
and the Crew Ready Room, and treatment of post-Coast-Guard-era
vegetation, such as the ornamental trees and shrubs planted by the
MIA and the Angell Foundation.
Cottage Row Historic District
Detailed management recommendations for the individual resources
of Cottage Row are beyond the scope of this report. However,
Cottage Row is certainly a resource that warrants immediate atten-
tion. Additional historical research, focusing on the resources of the
district and on the recreation context for the Sleeping Bear Dunes
National Lakeshore in general, is warranted. Specifically, additional
317
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
research should strive to determine the significance of the structures
as examples of late-nineteenth-century resort architecture, the histori-
cal prevalence of communal cottage developments in the upper Great
Lakes region, and the extent to which well-preserved examples of
such developments survive in the region today. Cottage Row should
be incorporated into the National Maritime Initiative Landscape
District, which currently is proposed by the NPS.
Several Cottage Row structures require immediate stabilisa-
tion before they suffer the same fate as the Blossom Cottage. Appro-
priate interventions may involve clearing invasive, non-cultural
vegetation from around the foundations of buildings, and making
temporary repairs to the roofs of structures. Serious consideration
should be given to the rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of the
district's habitable structures. Potential uses might include a visitor
contact station and/or interpretive center, youth or elder hostels,
and seasonal artist residences. In addition, a Cultural Landscape
Report should be prepared for the district.
Manitou Island Association West Side Barn
The MIA West Side Barn is the only significant structure remaining
on the western side of North Manitou Island. Because of its large
size, its picturesque situation near the edge of a large clearing that
provides spectacular views of Lake Michigan, and its pleasing
architectural design, the barn is an extremely valuable "discovery
site." The significant aesthetic qualities and historical associations
of the site should be recognized and preserved.
The MIA West Side Barn should be nominated for inclusion
in the National Register of Historic Places together with the North
Manitou Village Farm as part of a thematic, Manitou Island Asso-
ciation multiple-resource designation. Because this structure re-
mains in excellent structural condition, rehabilitation and adaptive
use is the most appropriate treatment. Until a suitable use {e.g., a
back-country ranger station) is identified, the barn should be stabi-
lized and preserved.
Frederic M. Beuham Orchard
The Frederic M. Beuham Orchard's local level of significance,
moderate level of historical integrity, immense size, and its position
within a proposed wilderness area, suggest that intensive treatment
of this landscape is impractical. Restoration and rehabilitation of
the landscape would entail replanting hundreds of fruit trees, as
well as intensive maintenance practices, such as fertilizing, pruning,
and pest management. Given the landscape's current context, either
preservation or stabilisation represent more appropriate treatment
schemes.
As a treatment strategy, preservation would aim to maintain
the landscape's current level of integrity, while not attempting to
replicate its historic composition or appearance. Preservation would
318
Cultural Landscape Management Recommendations
entail halting the further decline of the orchard, while also propagat-
ing historic plant materials for replanting after the original trees die.
The goal of stabilization, a less intensive treatment approach, would
be to extend the life of the orchard for as long as possible. Ulti-
mately, however, the landscape could not be stabilized permanently.
The remnant trees eventually would die and, if not replaced, the
historical integrity of the entire landscape would be lost.
Visually and aesthetically, the Beuham Orchard is one of
North Manitou Island's most significant cultural landscapes. Upon
first sight, the vast size of the clearing, especially when contrasted
with the dense forest surrounding it, is awe-inspiring. The orchard is
an unexpected and refreshing contrast to the expanse of maple-
beech forest surrounding it, and adds to the complexity diversity
and richness of the larger North Manitou landscape. The regular,
monotypic plantings of nearly uniform-size trees immediately
identify the site as a cultural landscape. Furthermore, the Beuham
orchard is the most intact landscape on the North Manitou Island
that represents the historical significance of commercial fruit
cultivation on the island and within the Sleeping Bear Dunes Na-
tional Lakeshore region. The landscape possesses important histori-
cal associations and, in terms of visitor experience, functions as a
unique "discovery site."
The aesthetic qualities of the landscape should be retained.
Therefore, a preservation approach is recommended. Treatment
interventions should include a minimal maintenance program of
fertilizing and liming (if determined necessary by a soil analysis),
and the removal of dead wood from living trees. The various culti-
vars represented in the orchard should be identified. As existing
trees die, new plants, propagated from living specimens on the site,
should be planted. New trees should occupy the positions of those
trees that are most completely decayed, leaving recently-deceased
individuals in place, thereby maintaining the characteristic order and
structure of the planting pattern. The planting pattern and spatial
integrity of the landscape also should be maintained by periodic
removal of invasive woody vegetation. This should be done by hand
cutting woody invasives and then, if necessary, treating the cut
surfaces of stems with a non-persistent herbicide, such as
glyphosate.
Alvar and Mary Bournique Residence
The North Manitou Island DCP/IP specified no use for the
Bournique property; the structures were slated to become "molder-
ing ruins." The PMOA developed in consultation with the Michigan
State Historic Preservation Office specified that the property would
be recorded by HABS Level III documentation in order to mitigate
the adverse effect of the DCP/IP on this historic property. As
stipulated in the DCP/IP, treatment of the Bournique property by
the NPS has been "general neglect." The property is remote from
319
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
10 The Dune Park, Indiana, location later
became Indiana Dunes State Park.
Intensive sand mining and industrial
development during the twentieth
century radically changed die physical
geography of much of the Indiana
dunes area. The multiple resource
nomination should address the extent
to "which mining activities have impacted
the historical integrity of the dunes and
interdunal "wetlands that Cowles
studied.
the village, and currently there appears to be no practical use for the
structures. Rehabilitation is an appropriate treatment for the
Bournique property, provided a compatible use can be identified.
Until then, the management goal for the Bournique property should
be to preserve the landscape in its current state, and thereby sustain
its historical associations and extend its evocative power as a ruin into
the future.
Continuing to allow the structures to deteriorate would lead
to the loss of historical integrity and, eventually, the loss of the
property's evocative power as a discovery site. Because of the
Bournique property's evocative power as a ruin, and due to its
importance in illustrating broad patterns in the history of North
Manitou Island, the Bournique property should be stabilised and
retained as a ruin. The structures should be minimally repaired in
order to preserve and maintain their current level of physical integ-
rity. Historic building debris should remain at the site. Only poten-
tially hazardous elements such as glass or sharp metal objects should
be removed. The landscape and its history should be interpreted to
visitors through literature, or exhibits at North Manitou Village.
North Manitou Island Dunes Historic District
If determined eligible, the North Manitou Island Dunes Historic
District should be nominated to the National Register of Historic
Places as a part of a thematic, multiple resource designation that
includes the other, historically intact, research sites that were central
to the development of plant ecologist Henry C. Cowles' theory of
succession. Within Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, the
potential districts include portions of North Manitou Island and the
shoreline in the Glen Haven vicinity, where Cowles carried out
ecological investigations. The dunes at Dune Park, Indiana, served
as one of Cowles' primary research sites, and are thus key to the
overall integrity of the collection of landscapes representing
Cowles' research. 78 Since some of the northern Indiana sites now are
protected by Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, it would be appro-
priate for the NPS to initiate NRHP-designation of the remaining,
intact research sites of Henry C. Cowles. This could be a coopera-
tive project of Sleeping Bear Dunes and Indiana Dunes national
lakeshores.
The most appropriate management of the potential North
Manitou Island Dunes Historic District landscape is preservation of
the characteristics associated with Cowles' ground-breaking ecologi-
cal research — specifically, the on-going natural processes of dune
formation and dunal vegetation succession. In other words, the goal
of cultural landscape management should be to foster continuance
of "natural" shifting landforms, and patterns of vegetational com-
position and distribution. The dunes landscape should remain a
"restless maze" much as it was when Henry C. Cowles studied the
area, and much as it currently exists today. If considered appropriate
320
Cultural Landscape Management Recommendations
and consistent with wilderness management techniques, the NPS
should consider methods for restoring species that have been extir-
pated from the North Manitou dunes since the arrival of white-tailed
deer (e.g.,Junipems communis,], hori^ontalis ; Arctostaphylos and Vrunus
The proposed preservation treatment approach is entirely
consistent with NPS management policies for natural zones, which
state that "natural shoreline processes (erosion, deposition, dune
formation, inlet formation, and shoreline migration) that are not
influenced by human actions will be allowed to continue without
abatement except where control measures are required by law." 79
Regarding the dunes, natural resources and cultural resources
management converge, united by a common purpose and shared
goals.
Treatment of Other
Structural and Landscape
Ruins on North Manitou
Island
Several resources on North Manitou Island function as significant
reminders of past human habitation and important cultural land-
scape elements, even though they do not meet the criteria for
inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places. These ele-
ments contribute to the aesthetic complexity and richness of the
North Manitou landscape (figure 6.6). They test our ability to
surmise the past structure of a landscape or a building, and chal-
lenge us mentally to "reconstruct" the building or the scene. They
force us to contemplate the passage of time. When these cultural
features disappear, their power as carriers of meaning and their
capacity to provoke the imagination of visitors will fade as well.
The expressive value of these sites should not be casually dis-
counted. Rather, the management of these landscapes should
recognize the evocative power and interpretive potential of such
"non-historic" cultural features.
79 National Park Service, Management
Policies, 4:20.
321
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 6.6. The unique and profound
associative values of ruins, or"discovery
sites, "like the nerland /Anderson house
largely have gone unacknowledged and
under-appreciated by resource managers.
Ruins are cultural resources that allow
visitors to explore facets of both non-human
nature and human history.
Certain non-NRHP-eligible cultural resources on North
Manitou Island should be managed as didactic landscapes. These
landscapes neither would be targeted for preservation treatment, nor
would they be subjects of intensive historical interpretation. In-
stead, the salient character-defining features would be allowed to
remain in place, and the on-going processes of natural decay would
be acknowledged and documented. This is essentially a "moldering
ruin" policy. However, the proposed approach differs from previous
NPS policy in that it is not primarily an attempt to erase evidence of
past human habitation from the landscape. Rather, it reflects a
purposeful effort to use such landscapes as mediums for learning
about the past, about the passage of time, and about the processes
of nature. The didactic power of such environments might be best
exploited through documentation of changes in the landscape, and
through an interpretive strategy that encourages visitors to explore
and contemplate these sites in innovative ways.
Interpretation of these landscapes, for example, might focus
on patterns of vegetational succession, or the opportunity to ob-
serve historic construction techniques that a naturally
"deconstructed" house so well affords. The processes of architec-
tural deconstruction could be documented by establishing a series
of datum points for annual rephotography of the various sites and
structures. In this way, the ability of these landscapes to express the
passage of time may be captured in a collection of photographs that
322
Cultural Landscape Management Recommendations
could be used in interpretive programs. Perhaps the best candidates
for such interpretation are the landscapes that include the ruins of
the houses built by Paul Maleski, Lars Alstrom, and Mads Nerland,
the spectacular series of connected clearings associated with the
Nelson and Sophia Carlson farm, and the vast clearing that encom-
passes the former lumber town of Crescent and the AHA west side
farm. Much of the value of a National Park landscape like North
Manitou Island is its ability to be seen and understood as a record of
human and natural history. The remainder of this report is an
attempt to uncover the nuances and power of the landscape's
interpretive potential.
323
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Some of our history can be found in books and old photos, a
legacy that is more or less enduring. . . . There is another history
though. It is a history that one cannot glean from extensive read-
ing. This history requires more effort. It is the silent legacy of an
abandoned but still producing apple orchard, the testimony of a
weathered but still standing home, the puzzle of an unidentifiable
plant or piece of metal or bone, the wavy gaze of an unbroken
window made before the time when windows were perfect and
alike. Most of all, it is that most ephemeral of histories: the
history that resides within the people who have lived it. — Andrew
McFarlane f
' Andrew McFarlane, "Great Spirits:
The Living History of Manitou," The
Gazette (Elk Rapids, Mich.) 5(2): 21 (24
June 1994).
324
A Paradoxical Wilderness
Chapter Seven
A Paradoxical
Wilderness
It is impossible to represent the landscape of North Manitou Island,
or any landscape, with detached objectivity. Our sense of the world
around us is constrained by the proficiencies and limitations of our
human sensory apparatus, filtered by broader cultural traditions, and
contextualized individual, personal experiences. Without even
realizing it, we select pieces of information from the surrounding
scene, and ignore other facets. From the selected componentry, we
construct "reasonable explanations" of how an environment works,
usually based on a set of familiar narratives — well-known "stock
plots" derived from paradigms of causal relationships and seemingly
universal axioms. Such narratives provide us not only with a means
to comprehend the world around us; they also are instructive,
suggesting appropriate or advantageous ways to interact with the
environments we encounter. They help us make the wilderness
around us comprehensible, livable, comfortable.
We cannot separate landscapes of reality from the mythic
landscapes that exist in our minds. This does not mean that we
cannot uncover truths about the landscapes that we exploit, inhabit,
or cherish. Rather, it means that our knowledge of landscapes arises
from a uniquely human perspective. Our landscape experiences, and
understanding, have biological, cultural, and personal bases.
Through personal experiences, our knowledge of landscapes (the
world around us) is always evolving, but it is doing so in accord with
our physiology, and within cultural traditions.
One of the things we know is that the landscapes around us
are constantly changing in ways that are both predictable and
325
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
unexpected. North Manitou Island is shaped incessantly by pro-
cesses of non-human nature — by drifting sand and eroding waves,
by growing trees, by rain falling from torrential cloudbursts. Yet the
island landscape also is constructed through species protection
legislation, recreational use policies, poetry and postcards, stories,
memories, and myth. This landscape is inescapably a product of
both nature and culture, and it changes continually in response to
both. Acknowledging the role of human ideas in creating places
such as North Manitou Island is a first step toward more fully
understanding the complexities of these landscapes. Furthermore, it
is an important step toward situating humans and human actions
within nature.
Few places speak so powerfully about the ability of human
values to shape landscapes (both material and cognitive) as island
environments such as North Manitou Island. The island clearly
played an important role in the mythology of the native Americans
who inhabited the region before the arrival of European settlers.
Never used intensively as a hunting and fishing ground, the island
was much more significant to the native population as a place of
symbolic power. It occupied a significant node in the landscape
cosmology of the region's indigenous people. The island expressed
the people's relationship to spirit beings — the Manitouk — and to the
rest of the non-human world. Euro-Americans also viewed the island
landscape as a place of symbolic meaning, but through a different
cultural lens.
In both Eastern and Western traditions, islands have been
associated with images of Eden. The idea of a geographically
isolated, island paradise is recurrent in Western mythology and
literature. The "Isles of the Blessed," ancient islands with perfectly
supportive natural environments, were part of Greek mythology since
at least the eighth century BC. The island paradise is often repre-
sented as a lost world. The lost Utopian civilization of the fabled
island Atlantis, the history of which Plato recorded in his dialogue
Critias, is perhaps best known. But tales of other lost islands long
have captured our imagination. For example, the myth of the Fortu-
nate Islands, contained in the romantic medieval epic, The Voyage of
Saint Brendan, remained popular through the Middle Ages. Accounts
of the Fortunate Islands became so important in Western tradition
that they influenced early European explorers. When Christopher
Columbus recorded his initial impressions of the islands of the
Bahamas, Cuba, and Hispaniola (Haiti), his description bore a striking
resemblance to the centuries-old account of the Fortunate Islands. 1
Needing a way to comprehend of the unfamiliar landscapes that he
encountered, the Italian explorer instinctively resorted to the familiar
narrative of St. Brendan and the western European tradition of
paradise.
1 Yi-Fu Tuan, The Good Tife (Madison,
Wise: University of Wisconsin Press, Nineteenth-century Euro-American settlers did not mistake
1986), 27. North Manitou for an island paradise in the sense of the Isles of the
326
A Paradoxical Wilderness
Blessed or the Fortunate Islands. They did, however, vest it with a
special meaning that was rooted in a uniquely American conception
of paradise called wilderness. Historian Roderick Nash has concluded
that wilderness has always been a "basic ingredient of American
civilization." 2 During late nineteenth and much of the twentieth
centuries, much of American history has been portrayed as the
transformation of the wilderness into settled communities. In 1893,
this narrative of progress was sketched definitively in historian
Frederick Jacks on Turner's frontier thesis. Wilderness eventually came
to represent a lost world — the source of American institutions,
culture, and values. During the late nineteenth century such cultural
associations were combined with Romantic aesthetic traditions, which
associated wild landscapes with ideals of "picturesque" beauty and
the "sublime" — embodying the sacred. Together, these notions
inspired efforts to reclaim and preserve wild or "native" landscapes.
Wilderness became an important symbol of American nationalism
during the nineteenth century, and wilderness landscapes continue to
be sources of national pride and identity. 3
As Nash has noted, an appreciation of wilderness was latent
in American culture from very early on. Indeed, the wilderness
narrative appears to undergird Euro-American perceptions of, and
interactions with, North Manitou Island even during the early
decades of white settlement in the region. From the early 1800s
onward, the North Manitou landscape has been shaped by two
countervailing attitudes toward nature — one which views the island
as a kind of wilderness Eden, and another which conceptualizes it
as a treasure trove of natural resources to be exploited. These two
themes run concurrently through the history of the island, and
represent two conflicting traditions. The landscape has been modi-
fied in response to both.
This conflicted attitude is expressed in one of the earliest
written accounts of the Manitou islands. In lyrical prose, Margaret
Fuller praised the natural beauty of the Manitou islands. Writing in
1843, Fuller remarked:
No one lives here except woodcutters for the steam-
boats. I had thought of such a position, from its mixture
of profound solitude with service to the great world, as
possessing an ideal beauty. I think so still, even after
seeing the wood-cutters and their slovenly huts. 4
For Fuller, the natural splendor of the island's beaches and forests
transcended the marring effects of human habitation. Fuller viewed
the taming of an island wilderness by human civilization as inevi-
table, yet she nonetheless lamented that "... centuries cannot again
adorn the land with such [noble trees]." 5 Three years later poet
William Cullen Bryant also marveled at the natural beauty of the
island when his steamer stopped there to take on wood. After
reflecting on the "hillocks and hollows of sand" along the island's
2 Roderick Nash, Wilderness and the
American Mind, 3rd ed. (New Haven:
Yale University Press, 1973), xi.
3 See Nash, Wilderness and the American
Mind; William Cronon, "The Trouble
with Wilderness," in William Cronon,
ed., Uncommon Ground: Toward Reinvent-
ing "Nature (New York: W W Norton,
1995), 69-90.
4 Margaret Fuller, Summer on the Takes,
in 1 843 (Urban a and Chicago:
University of Illinois Press [1844]
1991), 17-18.
5 Jte£,18.
327
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
6 William Cullen Bryant, The Tetters of
William Cullen Bryant. Vol. 2. Edited
by William Cullen Bryant II and
Thomas G. Voss (New York: Fordham
University Press, 1977), 444.
shore, and "an enormous growth of trees which must have stood for
centuries," Bryant wrote:
We admired the astonishing transparency of the water on
this shore, the clean sands, without any intermixture of
mud, the pebbles of almost chalky whiteness, and the
stones in the edge of the lake, to which adhered no
slime, nor green moss, nor aquatic weed. In the light-
green depths, far down, but distinctly seen, shoals of
fish, some of them of large size, came quietly playing
about the huge hull of our steamer. 6
As the writings of Fuller and Bryant attest, early nineteenth-
century observers were not unmoved by the island's natural beauty.
The Arcadian aesthetic sensibility of Fuller and Bryant, however,
coexisted with an attitude that perceived the island as a store of
natural commodities awaiting exploitation. Intensive timber harvest-
ing left hundreds of acres of cleared land on North Manitou Island,
and forever altered the composition and aesthetic character of the
island's forests, as did both small-scale subsistence farms and large,
corporate agricultural enterprises. No longer an island wilderness,
North Manitou was a human-engineered landscape that, during the
early twentieth century, supported a diverse community of up to
400 men, women, and children engaged in extracting sustenance and
aesthetic pleasure from the island's soils, forests, waters, and golden
sandy beaches. Yet even while trees fell and plows turned the
island's sandy soils, North Manitou retained a sense of "profound
solitude" and "ideal beauty" that attracted naturalists and
recreationists from Chicago and other midwestern cities.
The island landscape, and public perception of it, changed
with the displacement of the island community by the Manitou
Island Association. During the 1920s the MIA intensified its farm-
ing and forestry activities, and at the same time began cultivating
the island's image as a natural paradise. Under William Angell's
direction, the Manitou Island Association bulldozed many of the
abandoned farmsteads, thereby erasing vestiges of human history.
Although he actively reshaped the North Manitou landscape, Angell
apparently did not contemplate its restoration in ecological terms.
Instead, he sought a more anthropocentric vision of wilderness. He
set about to perfect nature, to correct some perceived deficiencies,
by introducing non-native wildlife species, including pheasants,
Guinea hens, chukar partridge, ruffed grouse, fox squirrels, rac-
coons, and white-tailed deer (figure 7.1). Later, the association
stocked Lake Manitou with brown trout, rainbow trout, and small
mouth bass. North Manitou's "wilderness mystique" crystallized
during the 1950s, when the last vestiges of the traditional commu-
nity disintegrated and the island came under control of the Angell
Foundation.
As North Manitou Island evolved into a private enclave, its
status as a wilderness paradise grew. The landscape became un-
328
A Paradoxical Wilderness
NORTH MANSTOU ISLAND
LE£LAtidV COUNTY
YOU StE-
1EAVE RtFKESHEP
Figure 7.1. Manitou Island Association
placemat, ca. 1950. The Manitou Island
Association represented North Manitou
Island as a sportsman's paradise-a place
thatteemed with wildlife, and a landscape
little touched by humanity.
known to area residents, and its human history faded from collective
memory. North Manitou became more isolated, not just geographi-
cally, but experientially and conceptually as well, becoming enig-
matic and unknown. Local historian Julia Dickinson wrote in 1951:
North Manitou Island seems a place of mystery and
tremendous silences to the infrequent visitor. The tallest
hardwood trees in the county are found on North
Manitou, and they seem as primeval today as they must
have seemed to those people who were the island's first
visitors. 7
Reflecting popular perception of the island, Dickinson described an
image of the island that perfectly reflected the Angell Foundation's
marketing strategy during the 1950s through the 1970s.
Throughout this period the Association's promotional litera-
ture portrayed the island as a sportsman's Eden (figure 7.2). By the
1970s that theme was more overt — North Manitou Island had become
7 Julia Terry Dickinson, The Story of
Leelanau (Omena, Mich.: Solle's
Bookshop, 1951), 45.
329
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
You are welcome at
NORTH MANITOU
ISLAND
. a comfortable wilderness,
whete hunting, fishing
and nature are still as
they used to be
Figure 7.2. The Manitou Island
Association's "comfortable wildemess"was
a landscape engineered to be "wild" in a
way thatwas conducive to human
recreation and enjoyment. Itwas a
conception thatstemmed from a peculiarset
of human values, and reflected a way of
thinking as much as a landscape of reality.
3 Brochure, "Welcome to North
Manitou Island," ca. 1970s, MIA
Collection, Sleeping Bear Dunes
National Lakeshore, Empire, Mich.
9 Hamish Ogilvie, "Michigan's 'Secret'
Island, North Manitou," Michigan
Uving Motor News 60(4): 24-25
(October 1977).
a place where time stood still. One brochure proclaimed that a trip to
the island is
a journey into the past, into Michigan as itwas 100 years
ago. Wild deer and turkeys are abundant Game fish
still rise, as in the days of your great granddad N.
Manitou Island has 15,000 acres of natural forest teem-
ing with wildlife in the unspoiled beauty of early Michi-
gan. The deer, the game, the forest, the cover, the
shore — just like it used to be. No bars, no stores, no
drive-ins, no highways. At North Manitou, you are back
to the land and all its beauty [enjoy] one of the most
comfortable, relaxing times of your life where you can
experience the total escape Early Michigan was just
like this. 8
While not denying the island's human history, the MIA's literature
implied that the contemporary landscape was superior to that of
past eras because it was more wild, more rugged, and untamed. The
power of the island's image as a timeless, natural paradise is re-
flected in an account by travel writer who, in the late 1970s, de-
scribed the island as
the rarest of jewels — a true escape from the tensions of
modern living. As soon as the plane . . . puts down on the
grass airstrip on the privately-owned island, you feel you
have slipped back into the calm and grace of life in
northern Michigan a half-century ago. 9
History and memory had become almost completely displaced by
myth.
The Angell Foundation cultivated North Manitou's image as
a secluded wilderness retreat — an image that suppressed the island's
human history, and foreshadowed subsequent National Park Service
planning. In manipulating the island's ecosystem, William Angell and
the Angell Foundation aimed to reshape the landscape according to
an ideal, much as farmers and other island residents had attempted
to do during the nineteenth century. However, instead of attempting
to cultivate the island as a garden, Angell and his successors ma-
nipulated the landscape and its biotic communities to more closely
approximate an ideal of wild nature — the "unspoiled beauty of early
Mchigan." They erased elements that did not "fit" the ideal, and
added other components that appeared to be conspicuously "miss-
ing." They altered the landscape to make it more familiar, more
aesthetically pleasing, more commodious — to make it a "comfort-
able" wilderness.
When the National Park Service (NPS) finally acquired
North Manitou in the autumn of 1984, the island seemed like an
obvious candidate for wilderness management. Relatively little
effort was put forth toward understanding the island's cultural
resources, perhaps because it was assumed to be unnecessary: North
Manitou was thought to be a primitive landscape that reflected little
330
A Paradoxical Wilderness
in the way of human history. North Manitou's buildings and struc-
tures were inventoried in 1979, providing a rudimentary level of
documentation. After reviewing a report on the history of the
island, one of the park's cultural resources interpretive staff was
"impressed by how little actually took place on the island." In a
1986 memo he concluded that
except for periods of logging activity and the govern-
ment lighthouse and life saving station, relatively little
human activity took place The question of a museum
on the island is moot. There is nothing to exhibit except
photographs. 10
Because North Manitou's human history was judged to be
mundane and uneventful, historical interpretation was not an
important part of the Development Concept Plan /Interpretive
Prospectus (DCP/IP). In fact, the plan suggested that the island's
human history should be intentionally downplayed in order to
"preserve the primitive, wilderness character of North Manitou
Island." 11 Most of the buildings were scheduled to become molder-
ing ruins, the island's cultural landscapes slated to return to their
"natural" state. The island's human history could be ignored, and
eventually forgotten. Since nature would reclaim North Manitou
Island, visitors would find a primitive landscape experience "empha-
sizing solitude, a feeling of self-reliance, and a sense of explora-
tion." 12 The NPS vision eerily resonated with Margaret Fuller's
portrayal of the island landscape of a century and a half ago. Its
emphasis on qualities like "solitude" and concepts like "self-reli-
ance" echoed core cultural values that Americans have long associ-
ated with wilderness environments. It is thus possible to see wilder-
ness management of North Manitou as a continuation of a long-
standing interpretive tradition that has roots extending well back
into the nineteenth century
Today, visitors to North Manitou encounter an enigmatic
landscape — a "place of mystery and tremendous silences" by design.
No wayside exhibits are provided to guide visitors in their explora-
tion of the island. A brochure developed by the NPS contains two
brief paragraphs about the island's human history and a map noting
historic place names and features. The brochure advises island
visitors to "use your imagination to interpret their meaning" 13
Visitors arriving at the village are greeted by several glistening,
white U.S. Coast Guard buildings ringed by the abandoned and
crumbling structures of Cottage Row and the former Manitou
Island Association farm. Campers heading south along the island's
eastern shoreline encounter the island cemetery and the ruinous
structures of the Bournique family's former summer retreat. Those
heading inland into the dense forest interior travel upon roads that
pass through abandoned homesteads and farm fields, all kept
immaculately clear of invasive woody vegetation by the island's
deer herd — nature's custodians of cultural landscapes. East of Lake
10 Park Ranger Herd to Chief Natural-
ist, "Review of Structures and Clutter
on North Manitou Island," 6 October
1986, Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore, Empire, Mich.
11 Ibid.
12 Department of the Interior,
National Park Service, Develop
Concept Plan I Interpretive Prospectus, North
Manitou Island, Sleeping Hear Dunes
"National Lakeshore, Michigan (Empire,
Mich.: Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore, November 1987), 20. This
document references the Sleeping Bear
Dunes General Management Plan.
Department of the Interior, National
Park Service, "North Manitou Island,
Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore," brochure, (Washington,
D C: Government Printing Office,
1987).
331
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
14 Robert Brodbeck, "Dune Dreams:
Northern Michigan's National
Lakeshore Creates Memories that Last a
Lifetime," Michigan Uiing 18(10): 18
(1999).
15 Rita Hadra Rusco, North Manitou
Island: Between Sunrise and Sunset (n.p.:
Book Crafters, 1991).
16 Assistant Superintendent, to Chief,
Interpretation and Visitor Services;
Chief, Resources Management and
Visitor Protection; Island District
Ranger, Assistant Chief Naturalist,
Historic Architect, 13 August 1993,
Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore, Empire, Mich.
Manitou, visitors see the vast 160-acre apple orchard planted in 1894
by Frederic Beuham and the Stark Bros. Nursery and Orchard Co. In
the northwestern portion of the island, the trail follows the grade of
the former Crescent railroad. The trail continues eastward to the
Maleski farmstead, the former home of the last independent farm
family to leave the island. In sum, visitors encounter a patchwork
landscape of dunes, thousands of acres of dense, maple-beech decidu-
ous forest, and endangered wildlife habitat, as well as a diverse array
of vernacular buildings and cultural landscapes that record past and
present uses of, and attitudes toward, nature and the land.
Nevertheless, the wilderness image promoted by the Manitou
Island Association and the National Park Service remains potent. A
1999 article published in a popular Michigan travel magazine conveys
to readers the now-traditional characterization of the Manitou islands.
Although both islands "are popular with hikers and campers," the
author notes that South Manitou "is home to a restored 1871 light-
house, shipwrecks and a virgin cedar forest." North Manitou, on the
other hand, "features 15,000 acres of wilderness with great views of
the dunes and Pyramid Point." 14 In summary, South Manitou offers a
cultural landscape rich in both human history and natural features,
whereas the primary attraction on North Manitou is wild, scenic
nature, pure and simple.
As more people have become familiar with the actual
landscape of North Manitou, public interest in the island's history
has grown. Visitors' curiosity about the island's cultural features and
human history has been satisfied by Rita Hadra Rusco's book and
map of the island's cultural geography 15 The popularity of Ms.
Rusco's book and map demonstrates that there is a void, albeit
intentional, in the NPS planned visitor experience. Park staff also
have developed a deeper appreciation for the island's history. On
their own accord, North Manitou rangers and Sleeping Bear staff
began offering informal walking tours of the village area in 1993.
Reports of these activities prompted the assistant superintendent to
issue a memorandum reminding employees about the limits placed
on interpretation by official park planning documents. The assistant
superintendent stated
. . . we ask that you plan your 'tour' to avoid a 'planned
tour' or 'guided tour' atmosphere we can still provide
historical information to individuals and/or groups as
long as we keep it informal, we do not advertise, and we
do so on a random basis. 16
Also in 1993, the operators of the island ferry service requested
permission to conduct guided tours of the village historic district.
The NPS advised them that they were to provide only "limited,
informal, non-advertised, non-scheduled, historical information on
the boat . . ." ll
332
A Paradoxical Wilderness
These instances suggest that the intended visitor experience
neither reflects the character of the island landscape, nor the natural
curiosity that is aroused in visitors when they experience it. The
island's historic buildings and other structures provide visitors with
emotionally meaningful aesthetic experiences. Consequently, the
park has received offers of volunteer labor, materials, and money
from groups and individuals. One man offered to stabilize the
Swenson barn located on the west side of the island. He wrote:
... I look at this as an opportunity to give to my sons the
same sense of discovery and connection with the past
that I had the first time I came upon the old barn. 18
The park refused his offer, stating that "while the sense of discovery
at finding a foundation will not be the same as finding the entire
barn, this is what is intended for Swenson's for future generations." 19
Clearly, many visitors are confounded by the nature /culture
dichotomy reflected in the North Manitou DCP/IP, and the agency's
neglect of the island's cultural resources and human history. For
many visitors, evidence of former human habitation is not incom-
patible with wilderness values. Wrote a visitor from Wayne, Pennsyl-
vania: "Preserving these buildings and their history is as important
as establishing the islands as wilderness areas. Furthermore, I do not
think these two goals are mutually inconsistent." 20 A couple from
Chicago echoed these sentiments:
The island is full of natural beauty and fascinating
architecture. The history of the island was particularly
interesting, especially the logging era. Someone told us
that many or all of the homes on the island are targeted
for demolition. If this is true it will be a tragic loss for
the island and the people who visit North Manitou
We believe that many people like us would find the
buildings as interesting as the environment in which they
are situated." 21
Another visitor went even further, suggesting that cultural resources
were not only compatible, but integral to the wilderness experience
on the island: "I can't help but wonder why these buildings are not
being preserved These buildings are part of the wilderness that is
North Manitou!" 22
Comments such as these express a conception of wilderness
that differs markedly from that articulated in the Wilderness Act of
1964 and related NPS management policies. In places like North
Manitou Island, where the landscape discloses a rich legacy of
human history, traditional NPS wilderness management policies fail
to account for the reality of the landscape, and fail to correspond
with visitors' experiences, perceptions and values. More importantly,
the suppression of the island's human history, an implicit goal of
NPS wilderness management policies, has obscured the connections
between natural and cultural systems. This tendency neither ad-
equately acknowledges the value of cultural resources, nor reflects
John Hiben to Superintendent,
Sleeping Beard Dunes National
Lakeshore, 23 July 1993, correspondence
files, Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore, Empire, Mich.
19 Superintendent, Sleeping Bear Dunes
National Lakeshore, to John Hiben, 28
July 1993, correspondence files, Sleeping
Bear Dunes National Lakeshore,
Empire, Mich.
20 George Wellman to [Superintendent],
Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore, 27 August 1 993, correspon-
dence files, Sleeping Bear Dunes
National Lakeshore, Empire, Mich.
21 Joan and John Herron to Superinten-
dent, Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore, 25 August 1993, corre-
spondence files, Sleeping Bear Dunes
National Lakeshore, Empire, Mich.
22 Kim Beals to Superintendent,
Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore, 26 October 1993, correspon-
dence files, Seeping Bear Dunes
National Lakeshore, Empire, Mich.
333
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
the ways in which visitors experience the island's landscape. Perhaps
wilderness is a more vague idea that the policies assume.
What kind of wilderness landscape is North Manitou Island?
If one employs the definition of the Wilderness Act of 1964 — that
is, a place where "the earth and its community of life are untram-
meled by man [sic]" and where "the imprint of man's [sic] work is
substantially unnoticeable," — then it is clear that North Manitou is
not a pristine example. 23 Returning to Carl Sauer's definition of a
cultural landscape as a natural area modified by human culture over
time, it is apparent that even the description of a "potential wilder-
ness" contained in the Wilderness Act of 1964 describes a cultural
landscape. Furthermore, we have pointed out how wilderness itself
is a cultural construction.
Today, North Manitou Island is no less a cultural landscape
than it was eighty years ago when its forests, farm fields, and fisher-
ies supported a population of several hundred residents. However,
North Manitou is now a cultural landscape that is managed as if it
were wilderness. In our minds, it occupies an ambiguous middle
ground between humans and wild nature. In mediating between
humans and nonhuman nature, it is akin to a garden, but a garden
that is tended in a peculiar manner. It is a wild landscape that has
been transformed by human activities and ideas — made to fit within
prevailing attitudes about the human relation to nature, made
"comfortable."
If interpretation of North Manitou Island as an untouched
wilderness is delusive, how should we instead perceive it? North
Manitou Island is not an ideal wilderness, but neither is it a stable,
intact cultural landscape that is being maintained through traditional
human activities. Many of its cultural features are in decline, slowly
disappearing due to decades of abandonment and neglect. This is
hardly a museum landscape. Rather, North Manitou Island is a
cultural landscape undergoing a peculiar yet familiar form of trans-
formation; indeed, it might be considered a ruinscape.
Most the island's "cultural resources" — namely, its buildings
and landscapes — exist in a physical condition that is deteriorated
beyond the point of restoration. As the historic landscapes of the
past decay, a different sort of cultural landscape emerges. This new
landscape is no less a product of human values and attitudes toward
nature and the land. In this respect a wilderness such as North
Manitou Island is no different from other types of cultural land-
scapes. It does, however, certainly possess peculiar characteristics
23 Wilderness Act of 1964, U.S. Code, an d idiosyncrasies. As a ruin, the landscape embodies aesthetic
vol. 4, title 16, sec. 1131(c) (1970). qualities that are capable of inspiring varied emotional and intellec-
334
A Paradoxical Wilderness
Figure 7.3. Ruins betray the extentto which
landscapes are dynamic settings, endlessly
modified by forces of non-human nature acting
through time. Ruins show both human
endeavors and non-human processes to be
powerful agents of environmental change.
tual responses. Ruins stand for the binary opposites of life, growth,
and progress. By embodying regressive change, ruins resist attempts at
preservation. They make the transformative power of nature and
time visible and palpable (figure 7.3). This may be why we find
ruins to be both disconcerting and fascinating at the same time.
Like "wilderness" landscapes, ruins are complex artifacts that
possess meaning on multiple levels and evoke emotions that are both
personal and bounded by long-standing cultural traditions. Ruins may
be valued simultaneously for their associative, aesthetic, and didactic
attributes. Intellectual interest in ruins extends back to the Enlighten-
ment, and the rediscovery of surviving vestiges of ancient Roman
and Greek civilizations during the Renaissance. Ruins represented
tangible evidence for understanding past cultures. Engaged in a
process of intuitive analysis, scholars examined ruins for clues to the
history and character of vanished civilizations. By the late seventeenth
335
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
24 Stuart Piggott, Ruins in a Landscape:
Essays in Antiquarianism (Edinburgh:
University Press, 1976), 20.
25 See John Dixon Hunt, Gardens and the
Picturesque: Studies in the History of
Landscape Architecture (Cambridge,
Mass.: MIT Press, 1992); David
Lowenthal, The Past Is a Foreign Country
(Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1985); David Watkin, The English
Vision: The Picturesque in Architecture,
Landscape and Garden Design (New York:
Harper and Row, 1982).
26 Hunt, Gardens and the Picturesque, 179.
21 Watkin, English Vision, 48.
28 Ibid, 64.
29 Megan E. Soske, Scenic Views:
Eighteenth-century Landscapes, Ruinscapes,
and Cityscapes: S elections from the Indiana
University Art Collection (Bloomington,
Ind.: Indiana University, 1996), 14.
30 C.-E [Constantin-Francois) Volney,
The Ruins; or, Meditation on the Revolu-
tions of Empires: and The Law of "Nature, .
. . . (New York, Peter Eckler Publishing
Co., 1926 [1791]), 7.
century the study of ruins and other antiquities was being approached
as an empirical, scientific discipline. 24 The ability of ruins to reveal
information about the past through standardized, objective observa-
tion contributed to the development of the discipline of archaeology.
Ruins, however, are not merely documents of the past for detached,
empirical study. Over many centuries they have become highly
charged with subjective, associative, and aesthetic meanings as well.
Landscapes featuring architectural ruins were a common
theme in painting, literature, aesthetics, and landscape architecture
during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Fascination
with the processes and effects of architectural decay was so perva-
sive during this time that several historians have referred to the
phenomenon as the "cult of the ruin." 25 Artists and poets celebrated
the accumulated effects of the gradual destruction of buildings by
nature in time. Landscape historian John Dixon Hunt states that
ruins were considered to be a "prime ingredient" of any picturesque
view, especially during the last half of the eighteenth century. 26
Ruins represented a harmonious integration of human artifice and
nature, and the processes of time and nature provided it with the
desired aesthetic properties of roughness and irregularity [e.g.,
broken and rough surfaces).
In England, garden designers sought to "improve" land-
scapes by incorporating ruins into views. Where no ruins existed,
they were sometimes purchased and moved onto a property. In other
cases, artificial ruins were constructed, along with artificial, "ru-
ined" elements of nature — dead trees and fragments of tree
trunks. 27 William Gilpin, an artist and critic of landscapes and
landscape art, valued ruins as "sacred" things possessing "a sort of
melancholy pleasure." 28 Gilpin preferred ruins, especially ruined
castles, to cottages, Greek temples, and other embodiments of
human artifice because, through time, ruins had become merged
with the landscape. They had become "naturalized." Furthermore,
the process of natural decay imparted to ruins the characteristics of
roughness and irregularity. The picturesque tradition thus bonded
the ruin with aesthetic pleasure.
Beyond aesthetic considerations, ruins possessed important
associative qualities. Ruins were thought to stir the imagination. The
viewer was invited to imagine the former inhabitants and to ponder
events that took place in the past. Probing even deeper, the
ruinscape invited the observer to "explore ideas concerning the
transience of time and its decaying effects on man's greatest accom-
plishments." 29 Contemplation of ancient ruins inspired Constantin
Francois Chasseboeuf Volney's Ruins, or Meditations on the Revolution
of Umpires, which elevated ruins into universal symbols of the
philosophy of history. "Do thus perish then the works of men —
thus vanish empires and nations?" asked Volney after pondering the
ruins of ancient civilizations. 30 Volney's survey of human history led
336
A Paradoxical Wilderness
him to conclude that "man is made the architect of his own destiny,"
and to warn that the lessons of times past may be repeated in the
present. 31
Landscape archaeologist Julia King has shown that American
attitudes toward ruins during the nineteenth century mirrored those
that prevailed in Europe. Although the American landscape possessed
no ruins on a scale of those that abounded in Europe, Americans
nonetheless valued architectural ruins for historical associations, as
embodying "lessons of history." King found that during the nine-
teenth century, inhabitants of southern Maryland retained certain
architectural ruins in the local landscape as visible links with the
past. 32 Archaeological and documentary evidence revealed that many
architectural ruins were left standing largely because they served as
palpable, mnemonic landmarks. Ruins gave a tangible quality to the
abstract concept of the past. 33 Historic photographs suggest that a
similar situation existed on North Manitou. Even a century ago, island
visitors were atracted to evidence of previous human habitation and
enterprise (figure 7.4).
During the eighteenth century and throughout much of the
nineteenth century, ruins represented the harmonious fusion of the
works of humans with natural processes. Although romantic atti-
tudes persist, a countervailing perspective is apparent today. The
contrasting view stems from a recognition that humans are not
always agents of progressive change, that our relationship with non-
human nature is not always harmonious. This notion has been
especially potent during the later half of the twentieth century.
Thus, a ruin that exists as part of a "natural" or "wild" setting may
be viewed not as a harmonious integration of humans and nature,
but as evidence of the destructive effects of past human endeavors.
The latter point of view is evident in the language of the Wilderness
Act of 1964, whereby "natural condition" is defined in opposition
to human civilization: a wilderness area "generally appears to have
been affected primarily by the forces of nature, with the imprint of
Figure 7. 4. A woman poses neara ruined
log structure, possibly a former
homesteader's cabin, on North Manitou
Island, ca. 1900.
31 Ibid., 21.
j2 Julia A. King, '"The Transient
Nature of All Things Sublunary:'
Romanticism, History, and Ruins in
Nineteenth-century Southern Mary-
land," in R. Yamin and K. B. Metheny,
eds., Landscape Archaeology: Reading and
Interpreting the American Historical
Landscape (Knoxville: University of
Tennessee Press, 1996), 249-72.
33 Ibid., 250-253.
337
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
338
A Paradoxical Wilderness
man's [sic] work is substantially unnoticeable." 34 The ruin, or other
"imprint of man's work," becomes a blight that must be removed if
the aesthetic ideal of wilderness is to be restored.
It is clear that both aesthetic traditions coexist today. NPS
wilderness management policies clearly reflect a conflicted, if not
wholly ambivalent, attitude toward cultural elements, or "examples
of man's presence." On North Manitou Island, cultural landscapes
such as the Bournique place initially were considered to be inconsis-
tent with "wilderness values." They were described not as pictur-
esque ruinscapes, but as "visual intrusions." Accordingly, the NPS
proposed to remove all of the structures and other human-made
features from the site. The agency later determined that removal of
the structures would severely disrupt natural systems, and subse-
quently revised its plan to allow the structures to remain in place
and deteriorate "naturally."
Most of the other extant structures on the island also were
proposed to remain as part of the wilderness as "moldering ruins."
Although this management decision was made primarily because of
economic and logistical constraints, it was justified, in part, on
aesthetic grounds. The NPS conceded that retaining "visual intru-
sions" in a wilderness area allowed them to function as "discovery
sites" for park visitors. This apparent compromise of "wilderness
values" acknowledged the aesthetic legacy of eighteenth-century
picturesque landscapes, in which "moldering ruins" are valued for
their aesthetic and associative attributes — their ability to stir the
imagination.
The compromise solution adopted by the NPS suggests the
extent to which both aesthetics — wilderness and the picturesque —
coexist. So, too, do the experiences of visitors who come upon the
"discovery sites" of North Manitou Island. Both aesthetic attitudes
are expressed eloquently in this account of journalist Mark Stone's
encounter with the ruins of the Adam and Alary Maleski farm on
the northern end of the island (figure 7.5):
With little effort, it was easy to piece together what had
once been: the approximate extent of the fields and
pastures, the rise of an old barn foundation, all posts
that once fenced the garden from deer, and, at the other
end of the clearing behind a row of blooming lilacs and
scattered fruit trees, the once-upon-a-time Maleski
home.
The building had lost some of its glory in decay, but not
its character. I could see the Maleski's sitting on the now
rotted and broken porch. Through the broken panes,
Mrs. Maleski's kitchen was now lit by the gaping holes in
the caved-in roof. Around the home, a few outbuildings
tilted into thickets of overgrowth and vines. Here and
there were the rusted horse-drawn implements of the
farm operation.
Figure 7.5 (opposite page). Frontporch of
the farm house built by Paul andj osephine
Maleski, 1997.
34 Wilderness Act of 1964, U.S. Code,
vol. 4, title 16, sec. 1131(c) (1970).
339
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 7.6. Ruins like the dilapidated Katie
Shepard dining room inspire reflection
aboutprocesses of nature and time, and the
place of human history in "wilderness"
landscapes. In Western culture, ruins draw
on both modern and centuries-old aesthetic
and associative traditions.
35 Mark Stone, "Sweet Isolation: The
Pristine Quietude of North Manitou,"
The Gazette (Elk Rapids, Mich.) 5(2):
21-22 (June 24, 1994).
How long, I wondered as I headed back into the trees at
the other end of the clearing, would it take for nature to
remove all traces of the Maleskis from this spot — 10
years, 20 years, 50 years? What do the Maleski descen-
dants feel when they visit this place?
They will return to find the beauty of their homestead
replaced with a beauty of another sort." 35
Stone's interpretation of the Maleski house ruin reflects the
"sort of melancholy pleasure" that is the aesthetic legacy of the
eighteenth-century ruinscape. Competing with this romantic view,
however, is Stone's anticipation of a "beauty of another sort,"
which is, of course, the beauty of wild nature — the equally roman-
tic aesthetic of wilderness, where "the imprint of man's [sic] work is
substantially unnoticeable." In Stone's account we encounter the
central paradox of "wilderness" landscapes such as North Manitou
Island — that one's appreciation of non-human nature actually is
heightened by the obvious presence of human-made artifacts in the
landscape. Rather than spoiling the view, "imprints of mankind"
indeed may make one more aware of the transformative and, in
some cases, regenerative power of nature (figure 7.6). To do so, of
course, ruinscapes make use of (and depend upon) the conceptual
dichotomy between humans and nature, but in so doing they also
point toward the connections and the extent to which the two
concepts are interconnected.
340
A Paradoxical Wilderness
Figure 7.7. Eastern shore of Lake Manitou,
1997. In many environments, traces of
human history are easily obscured. In such
places it is easy to forgetthateven
landscapes that appear utterly wild are, to a
certain extent cultural constructions.
In settings such as North Manitou Island it is easy to forget
that we inhabit a place that has a human history (figures 7.7 and
7.8). Amidst such natural beauty and solitude it is easy to believe
that the island is a place that has remained little-touched and
unsullied by human enterprise. It is easy to imagine this place as a
mythic, timeless, island wilderness. The presence of ruins, however,
dispels the myth of timelessness, and the myth of stability. From
the day a building is constructed, nature begins to transform it.
Surface materials are weathered and eroded, and the process of
returning the edifice to the earth begins. The same can be said of
the elements of non-human nature — plants and animals and rocks.
The weathered buildings of abandoned North Manitou
farmsteads, the overgrown shrubs, and the rows of old wooden
fenceposts and twisted wire, now partially buried by dunes of
shifting sand, all speak eloquently of the passage of time, cycles of
nature, and the transience of human habitation on the island. Ruins
and other evidence of past human habitation provide visitors with a
extraordinary vantage point from which to consider the world
around them and their place in it. Situated on a cusp of space and
time, these elements solicit contemplation of one's relationship to
place, history, and nature. This sort of evocative power is character-
istic not of wilderness, but of ruinscapes. We cannot deny that there
is spiritual power in nature. We can marvel at a world that humans
did not create. But we also must recognize that we are part of that
world.
The interpretive agenda codified in the North Manitou Island
DCP/IP, and rooted in the NPS conception of wilderness, portrays
North Manitou as a place that exists largely outside the human
Figure 7.8. One of two now-vanished
boathouses thatstood along the eastern
shore of Lake Manitou during the early
1900s.
341
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 7.9. Dock and wharf, north Manitou
Village, ca. 1910s. Although it is a place of
spectacular natural beauty, North Manitou
Island is nota wilderness landscape that
has remained untouched by human
activities. The extentto which past human
endeavors have "spoiled"the island
depends on one's understanding of such
places as cultural landscapes.
Figure 7.10. Aformer logging road thatnow
functions as a hiking trail, North Manitou
Island, 1997.
realm — a resource that is inspirational precisely because it has re-
mained unspoiled by human endeavors and because it now is set aside
and forever protected from damaging human influences. This report
presents an alternative view: a portrait of North Manitou Island as a
landscape that bears marks of a rich and varied human history (fig-
ures 7.9 and 7.10). Rather than discounting NPS conceptions of the
island as inaccurate or misinformed, we might instead see them as a
reification of North Manitou's reputation as a timeless, primeval
wilderness landscape. The NPS vision reflects a long-standing inter-
pretive tradition, and a familiar outlook that did not originate with
the agency. As a continuation of a cultural tradition, the "wilderness"
interpretation of the island landscape is no less valid, no less "true,"
than our alternative view. Indeed, reification of the wilderness myth —
the island's reputation as a place where "nothing happened" — also is
an important facet of its human history. It reflects an important
dimension of our cultural heritage, but more importantly the wilder-
ness myth also explains the North Manitou landscape as it exists
today. It is an essential part of the island's human history, and perhaps
the very idea of wilderness has been the most powerful cultural force
to affect the North Manitou landscape during the twentieth century.
Should interpretation of the North Manitou Island landscape
continue as planned in the DCP/IP? The current interpretive
approach denies the extent to which the island's natural history is
interwoven with human history. Furthermore, it does not reflect the
experiences of many island visitors. The cultural landscape of North
Manitou Island provides a richer, more interesting, visitor experi-
ence than the "primitive experience" described in the current DCP/
IP. By fully acknowledging the island as a cultural landscape that
possesses spectacular natural features and beauty and vestiges of a rich
and unique human history, the NPS may actually enhance the quality
of visitors' experiences and foster encounters that emphasize "soli-
tude, a feeling of self-reliance, and a sense of exploration."
342
A Paradoxical Wilderness
Unfortunately, traditional NPS planning procedures and
management strategies seem ill-equipped to acknowledge cultural
landscapes of the sort that predominate on North Manitou {i.e.,
"ruinscapes"). Compared with other types of resources, current
NPS management policies have little to say about the treatment of
ruins, especially ruins associated with historic-era, non-native {e.g.,
Euro— \merican) cultures. Most of the common treatment interven-
tions are aimed at preserving archaeological information that may
be contained in a ruin, rather than exploiting its aesthetic and
didactic potential as a landscape element. Ruins, perhaps more than
other types of artifacts, resist preservation. By embodying regressive
change, ruins make transition visible, tangible, palpable. Ruinscapes
are inherently transitory environments.
Conventional management and interpretation schemes
cannot be applied readily to the kinds of ruinous vernacular land-
scapes that now characterize North Manitou Island. Such land-
scapes cannot be "restored" to earlier, historic forms. Furthermore,
they cannot be interpreted in the manner that is typical of restored,
museum environments. Significant pieces of the dominant historical
narrative {e.g., nineteenth-century subsistence farming) have been
lost in ruinscape environments, replaced by competing storylines
{e.g., ecological succession). The ruin amidst wilderness invites an
observer to invent her own narrative, to create her own plausible
explanation and story. Yet the themes and plot line are suggested
best by the environment itself. And the themes certainly have to do
with nature, time, and humanity.
Landscape ruins suggest that all environments are inherently
transitory, and they are so because we are part of them. They exist
outside of us, and within us — embedded in stories, postcard snap-
shots, scientific theories, personal memories, and poems (figure
7.11). Our landscapes change us as surely as we change them. In
looking at landscapes like North Manitou, we may adopt a more
"biocentric" point of view, but it is still a human view. In labeling
such places as natural, largely devoid of cultural significance and
meaning, we fail to fully acknowledge, and take responsibility for,
our place in them. A heightened sense of environmental awareness,
then, is the largely untapped interpretive potential of North
Manitou Island. Indeed, it is the interpretive potential of much of
the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
The recommendations presented in this report are aimed at
moving landscape management and understanding on North
Manitou closer to the approach articulated in the Sleeping Bear
Dunes National Lakeshore GMP, which emphasizes "human adapta-
tion to and influence on the natural environment" and "the linking
of past, present and future" — themes that were central to Carl
Sauer's initial conceptualization of the cultural landscape. 36 The NPS
commitment to a wilderness ideal has unnecessarily constrained
management options for both cultural and natural resources on North
343
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figure 7.11, Postcard image of a painting of
landscape scenery at Lake Manitou.ca.
1900. Such renderings betray a landscape
as both objectand subject, shaped by
human actions and defined by human
ideas.
36 Department of the Interior,
National Park Service, General
Management Plan: Sleeping Bear Dunes
"National Lakeshore, Michigan (Denver:
Department of the Interior, National
Park Service, October 1979), 5.
Manitou Island. An alternative approach might treat the island as a
wilderness park, a place that is purposefully celebrated as a setting for
interacting with elements of non-human nature and vestiges of past
human culture. Instead of regarding the island as a wilderness land-
scape that is marred by "visual intrusions," the NPS might present it
as a cultural landscape that offers visitors a unique opportunity to
explore the human relationship to nature.
What are the practical implications of this shift in perspec-
tive? To begin with, the island's human history should be acknowl-
edged, not ignored or downplayed. Ruins and other cultural re-
sources, whether structures or landscapes, are important elements
of the visitor experience on North Manitou. Ruined farmsteads and
other elements should be unapologetically "interpreted" as part of
the visitor experience. This does not mean that human history
should be the focus of the visitor experience, however. Rather, the
human history embodied in the island's dunes, forests, lakes, and
wildlife should be added to the picture. Accurate historical informa-
tion should be accessible to visitors, but the interpretive program
need not depend upon intrusive wayside exhibits or museum dis-
plays. Visitors should be encouraged to explore the island's cultural
landscapes on their own.
The approach advocated here does not invalidate the resto-
ration of cultural elements, or the conservation of natural systems
on the island. Resources like the U.S. Life-Saving Station and
Cottage Row clearly possess a cultural significance that justifies
more intensive (i.e., traditional) preservation and interpretation.
Likewise, protection of piping plover and pitcher's thistle, and
vigilant preservation of sensitive habitats, are worthwhile manage-
ment objectives. While not abandoning our obligation to respect and
conserve non-human nature, this report recommends a shift in
attitudes that is most clearly manifest in the way the island landscape
is conceptualized, and the way in which it is interpreted to the public.
344
A Paradoxical Wilderness
An island can easily become a place of escape, a world apart,
sealed off from the enervating influences of modern, human civiliza-
tion. Many people long to feel as though they are the first human
beings to hike along a certain stretch of beach, or to cross a cold-
running stream, or to ponder a bloom of milkweed slowly swaying in
a late summer breeze. Many of us struggle to come to terms with our
respect for wild, non-human nature, and our felt connection to human
history, our yearning for understanding about times and lives past. A
landscape like North Manitou Island could be a place for doing
that — a place for questioning, and reconciling, our own conflicted
relationships with our past, with each other and the natural world.
How do we tend a "comfortable wilderness"? Perhaps we
could begin by recognizing that wilderness needs ruins. It depends
upon them, and other evidences of human habitation, for much of
its meaning, for we can only define wilderness in relation to human
culture — in relation to ourselves. Vestiges of human habitation
prompt us to ask questions about our place in nature — questions
about how the natural world has shaped patterns of human life in
the past and the present. They reveal shifting attitudes toward
nature — how people have perceived non-human nature and at-
tached complex meanings and values to elements of the world
around us. Finally, they help us contemplate the peculiar ways in
which humans reshape landscapes, and how those landscapes in
turn inspire us. Preserving vestiges of human culture on a remote
island like North Alanitou may be a step toward coming to terms
with our past, and envisioning possible futures — a step toward
achieving the kind of adaptation to environment that Sauer defined
as "the feeling of harmony between the human habitation and the
landscape into which it so fittingly blends." 37
37 Carl Sauer, "The Morphology of
Landscape," in Land andLife: A Selecti
from the Writings of Carl Ortivin Sauer,
ed. John Leighly (Berkeley, CA:
345
Appendix A
Research Methodology and Sources
The findings and interpretations presented in this report were drawn
from a diverse array of sources, encompassing personal memoirs,
historic photographs and maps, government reports and planning
documents, census records, legal documents, oral history interviews,
and secondary historical accounts, as well as the island's relict
material culture. Most of the primary archival repositories were
located in Michigan, and included the collections of the Sleeping
Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Empire, the Leelanau County
Historical Museum in Leland, the Library of Michigan and the State
Archives of Michigan in Lansing, and the Bentley Historical Library
in Ann Arbor. Other repositories included the State Historical
Society of Wisconsin, and the Chicago Maritime Society. In addi-
tion, the private collections of two former North Manitou residents,
Rita Hadra Rusco and Paul Maleski, Jr., were consulted. Field
investigations were carried out during the summers of 1996 and
1997. A few key types of manuscript sources are discussed indi-
vidually below, followed by general remarks on other unpublished
documents. These are followed by notes on other primary and
secondary sources.
Census Records
Manuscript census schedules are available for certain years during
the nineteenth and early twentieth century. The decennial censuses
certainly do not fully capture the island's "boom-or-bust" develop-
ment pattern, but they nonetheless provide partial, periodic glimpses
of the demographic composition of the island's human population.
For the years 1860, 1870, and 1880 the federal census of agriculture
provides specific data on North Manitou farms. Unfortunately,
347
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
much of the 1890 U.S. Census data was destroyed by fire. Aggregate
(township) population data from the 1890 census are available in
published form, but there are no separate population statistics for
North Manitou Island. For the 1900 census the island was incorpo-
rated into the Leland Township manuscripts, and it is difficult to
identify North Manitou residents with absolute certainty. In con-
trast, the 1910 and 1920 manuscripts clearly distinguish the island's
inhabitants from other township residents.
The state of Michigan collected its own statistics on agricul-
ture and industry throughout much of the nineteenth century for
years ending in four. However, it is not possible to extrapolate
specific information about North Manitou Island until the 1894
census, and after that census North Manitou statistics were incorpo-
rated into aggregate numbers for Leelanau County. Most of the
statistics from the 1894 state census apply to both North and South
Manitou islands together. For example, statistics for cultivated land,
poultry, cereal crops, garden vegetables, and fruits were combined
for both islands. Separate data are given for livestock and fisheries.
Still, it is possible to conceptualize the general context of North
Manitou Island agriculture from these data. The tables in Appendi-
ces C and E summarize the federal population and state agriculture
censuses for which North Manitou-specific data can be discerned.
Homestead Records
Enacted in 1864, the Homestead Act legislatively established a mecha-
nism for the efficient dispensation of public lands to aspiring agricul-
turists. Individuals who acquired land under provisions of the Home-
stead Act were required to file various documents with regional
federal land offices, which functioned under the auspices of the U.S.
Treasury Department. The original documentation filed by claimants
subsequently was transferred into the National Archives and Record
Service in Washington, D.C. where it currently is available to the
public. Although the level of detail varies, these documents often
provide detailed information about a claimant's ethnic or cultural
heritage, his (or, infrequently, her) age and familial status, and the
various "improvements," such as buildings or cultivated land, that
had been made on the property. Perhaps the most useful homestead
data pertains to buildings, the amount of cleared land, and personal
information about the claimant, the kinds of crops cultivated, and
animals, because few other sources exist that provide this data with
such specificity. In addition, such information may allow insights
into general agricultural activities and practices within the larger
community. Appendix D summarizes the characteristics of North
Manitou's homestead farms, as described by claimants in official
homestead documents. Homestead records were located for nine
claimants on North Manitou Island. Documents for two homestead-
ers, Nels Carlson and Lars Christian, were not located.
348
Land Records
Records indicating the first purchasers of land within the surveyed
public domain are held in the State Archives of Michigan in Lan-
sing. The authors utilized microfilm copies of these records, which
for each parcel gave the name of the purchaser, and the method of
acquisition {e.g. homestead, military bounty etc). In addition, this
information is found in table form in the "History Data Report"
written by NPS historian David L. Fritz. The official Leelanau
County deeds records held at the courthouse in Leland, Michigan,
also were utilized to document key land transactions.
Other Manuscripts
Manuscript materials were utilized from three repositories: the
archives of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, the Bentley
Historical Library, and the Leelanau County Historical Museum.
The SBDNL archive contains several linear feet of manuscript
materials that originate from the Manitou Island Association and the
William R. Angell Foundation. Most of these materials were do-
nated to the lakeshore by a former Angell Foundation trustee. The
documents include official Angell Foundation memorandums and
correspondence, copies of reports about the MIA deer herd and
archaeological resources on the island, and an MIA general accounts
ledger for the period autumn 1924 through 1929. In addition to this
important collection of historic materials, the administrative files of
the SBDNL include copies of court documentation relating to NPS
condemnation proceedings, reports on natural and cultural re-
sources, official public comment documents, and unsolicited com-
ments from park visitors.
The papers of Arthur J. Lacy, William R. Angell's personal
attorney, are located at the Bentley Historical Library. The Lacy
papers contain documents relating to the establishment of the
Angell Foundation, minutes from foundation meetings, and copies
of the two trust instruments that Angell created to hold the assets
of the Manitou Island Association. Other items in the Lacy Collec-
tion corroborated evidence drawn from the AHA Collection at
SBDNL. Lastly, the Betty Kramer Collection of the Leelanau
Historical Museum contains several useful sources, including personal
recollections of Shirley Foote Alford and Josephine Hollister, news-
paper clippings, and miscellaneous items relating to the Newhall,
Manitou Island Association, and Angell Foundation eras.
Pictorial and Cartographic Information
Photographic documentation of agriculture on North Manitou Island
is scant. The authors located useful images in the personal photograph
collections of former North Manitou Island residents Rita Hadra
Rusco and Paul Maleski, Jr., and in the archival collections of the
Bentley Historical Library, the Chicago Maritime Society, Leelanau
Historical Museum, and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
(SBDNL). Probably the best assemblage of North Manitou Island
349
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
photographs, in terms of historical themes, physical condition, and
image quality, is the collection of Newhall family photographs held by
the Chicago Maritime Society. The photographs were donated to the
society by descendants of John Newhall. They are contained in five
bound scrapbooks, and represent views taken during the Newhall
family's tenure on the island, roughly 1897 through the early 1920s.
The collection includes images of Newhall family members, friends,
employees, farm scenes, and views of Cottage Row, logging activities,
and natural features. In addition to a small number of photographs
depicting the Newhalls' agricultural activities, the collection contains
several images of other North Manitou farms.
Certainly in terms of chronological breadth, range of subject
matter, and historical themes, the best overall assemblage of island
photographs is the personal collection of Rita Hadra Rusco. Rusco
assembled her collection during many years of residency on the
island, and as part of her effort to document the island's history.
The photograph collection represents her love for the island and her
deep appreciation of those who resided on the island before her.
Rusco graciously shared her collection with the authors on several
occasions. Rusco's collection was especially valuable for this study
because it contains several images depicting agricultural practices
and landscapes on North Manitou Island (which are themselves
few), including some that are not represented in other collections.
Another former island resident, Paul Maleski, Jr., also loaned his
collection of family photographs. These were useful in understand-
ing the history of one of the island's most important farm families.
In addition to the personal collections noted above, the
archive of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore includes an
assortment of over ninety photographic images of North Manitou
Island. The NPS has gathered these images from various sources,
including donations from former island residents. Compared with
other areas of the lakeshore, North Manitou Island agriculture is not
well represented in the SBDNL collection, and many of the images
that exist are of poor quality. The Randa Frederickson Collection of
the Bentley Historical Library includes a small set of historic photo-
graphs, most of which depict various logging activities on the island
during the early twentieth century. The Bentley's postcard collection
also includes North Manitou scenes that depict logging, the village
post office and store, the lighthouse, and the maiden voyage of the
island's mail boat. A final archival source of photographic images is
the Leelanau Historical Museum in Leland., which holds a small
collection of photographs depicting a range of activities on the
island. Several of these are not represented in other collections. The
museum's Betty Kramer Collection of also contains a few views of
North Manitou dating from the late nineteenth and early twentieth
centuries.
350
In addition to historic photographs of island scenes, several
sets of aerial photographs of the island, or portions thereof, were
utilized. The oldest and most useful set of historic aerial images was
produced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1938. Large-
format black-and-white prints of these photographs were acquired
from the National Archives and Record Service. Although the
resolution of many of these photographs is not optimal, they
provide a historical baseline for assessing macro-level landscape
change {e.g., changes in general patterns of vegetation, the size and
shape of clearings, etc.; the scale and clarity of the photos generally
does not permit the identification of specific buildings or small
landscape features). Similar information was drawn from a set of
twenty black-and-white aerial photographs dating from 1952, a
series of aerials from 1971, eight infrared aerial photo color trans-
parencies from the 1980s, and a 1995 series of color slides depicting
aerial views of North and South Manitou islands.
Few detailed historic maps of the island were located. The
MIA Collection at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in-
cluded a plat map of the North Manitou Village area dating from
the 1910s, a ca. 1950s insurance map of the same vicinity and
several historic plat maps of the island, most dating from the mid-
19208 through the 1950s. Current cartographic information was
obtained from the U.S. Geological Survey "North Manitou Island"
quadrangle map, and from a map produced by Rita Hadra Rusco and
Gina Olejarczyk. Jean (Londergan) Lundquist shared a truly unique
map of the island. The map was created by Eleanor Lampman, wife
of Dr. Harold Lampman. The Lampmans were personal friends of
William Angell and the Londergans, and spent time on the island
during the 1940s and 1950s. Eleanor Lampman's map portrays the
cultural landscape of the island as it was experienced by North
Manitou's summer residents during that time. The hand-painted map
includes trails, roads, and natural and cultural landmarks, which are
colorfully denoted by small pictograms or emblems. As Jean
Lundquist related, each emblem represented a familiar island site
and the "stories" associated with it.
Newspapers
Microfilm copies of Leelanau county newspapers were researched at
the Library of Michigan in Lansing. The research was not compre-
hensive or systematic. Rather, a reconnaissance approach concen-
trated on certain periods for which other documentation was scarce
(e.g., the late 1880s through the 1890s). Coverage of events on
North Manitou was not extensive in the mainland newspapers.
Nevertheless, the papers yielded anecdotal information, and con-
firmed events documented by other sources. In addition to the
collection at the Library of Michigan, the Leelanau County Histori-
cal Museum's Betty Kramer Collection included several noteworthy
351
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
newspaper clippings, and the administrative files of Sleeping Bear
Dunes National Lakeshore contained a number of articles pertaining
to NPS acquisition and management of the island.
Oral History Interviews
The authors conducted oral history interviews with former island
residents Rita Hadra Rusco, Paul Maleski, Jr., and former summer
resident Jean (Londergan) Lundquist. Notes from interviews with
Rusco, Maleski, and Lundquist are on file at Sleeping Bear Dunes
National Lakeshore. In addition, SBDNL loaned audio and video
tape recordings of previous interviews with Paul Maleski, Jr. The
authors also utilized the oral history collection of the Leelanau
County Historical Museum, which contained audio tape recordings
of a 1993 interview with former North Manitou resident Vera Crites
Goos.
Previous Inventories
North Manitou Island's cultural resources were documented system-
atically in 1979, and again in 1994. The island's buildings and
structures were inventoried at a reconnaissance level (i.e. without
intensive historical and/or contextual research) in 1979 by Shunichi
Hagiwara, a graduate student at Michigan State University.
Hagiwara's survey was sponsored by the NPS, in cooperation with
the Michigan State Historic Preservation Office, and was intended
to record all of the extant structures on the island at that time.
Although the Hagiwara's inventory somehow omitted the AHA
sawmill, most of the island's buildings were photographed, and
basic location and materials data were noted on small inventory
cards. The 1979 survey data provide a baseline for evaluating
environmental change over the ensuing two decades. The NPS List
of Classified Structures (LCS) inventory was undertaken fifteen
years later, during the summer of 1994. Original LCS photographs
and field notes are on file at the office of the NPS, Midwest Field
Area, in Omaha, Nebraska.
Field Reconnaissance Surveys
Relict roads, paths, clearings, buildings, architectural ruins, and
cultivated plants, reveal the extent and character of agricultural
practices on North Manitou Island from the 1850s through the
1950s. Cultural features at former agricultural sites were docu-
mented with black-and-white photographs and, in some cases, color
slides. Sites with significant cultural features were documented with
measured drawings. Landscape features, extant buildings, and
architectural remnants were located via triangulation.
Secondary Historical Accounts
Because primary documents relating to the history of North Manitou
Island are scarce, this study utilized a number of secondary accounts.
Foremost of those were the memoir and island history published by
Rita Hadra Rusco, and the "History Data Report" prepared by NPS
352
historian David L. Fritz. Rusco's book, Between Sunrise and Sunset,
relates not only her personal experiences of life on the island during
the 1940s, but also includes numerous descriptions of past personali-
ties and events derived from the author's own historical research, and
images from her collection of island photographs. Between Sunrise and
Sunset also occupies a prominent place in the recent history of the
island — it filled a void created by the official NPS interpretive strat-
egy, which granted only minimal acknowledgment of the island's
human history. The popularity of Rusco's book demonstrates that
island visitors are eager to learn more about the history of the cul-
tural landscapes that they encounter on North Manitou Island.
The "History Data Report" prepared by David L. Fritz
represents the National Park Service's initial attempt to understand
and evaluate the human history of North Manitou Island. The
"History Data Report" does not give an integrated narrative account
of human activities on the island. Instead, the report is organized as a
series of topical vignettes derived from various sources. Appendices
include a list of first land purchasers, an historical base map, and an
inventory of the island's structures. Unfortunately, the report was
completed after the development of the national lakeshore's General
Management Plan, and seems to have inspired little serious consider-
ation among NPS planners during the development of the North
Manitou Island Development Concept Plan/Interpretive Prospectus.
Nonetheless, Fritz's report is a well-documented and useful resource.
Other secondary sources included a 1992 memoir by Glenn C.
Furst, and a hiking and backpacking guide written by Robert H.
Ruchhoft. Written from a child's perspective, Furst's book is a engag-
ing collection of stories about the author's childhood while living
with his family at the lighthouse keeper's station at North Manitou
Island. Ruchhoft's guidebook, which encompasses all of the major
eastern Lake Michigan islands, contains a brief history of the island
and several historic photographs, many of which were obtained from
private individuals.
353
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Appendix B
Some Possible American Indian Uses of Plant
Species Currently Present on North Manitou Island 1
1 The following discussion and
accompanying list of plant species "were
derived from Hazlett and Vande
Kopple's 1983 survey of North
Manitou vegetation and Yarnell's study
of vegetation use by American Indian
groups in the upper Great Lakes.
Yarnell's study relies heavily on historic-
period or modern ethnographic
accounts that offer only broad generali-
zations or apply only to specific cultural
groups. For this reason, and because
certain species that formerly occurred on
the island may now be missing from its
flora, Appendix B should be regarded
only as a preliminary outline of
possibilities. See Brian T. Hazlett and
Robert J. Vande Kopple, The Terrestrial
Vegetation and Flora of North and South
Manitou Islands, Sleeping Bear Dunes
National Lakeshore, Leelanau County,
Michigan (Douglas Lake, Mich.:
University of Michigan Biological
Station, 1983); Richard Asa Yarnell,
"Aboriginal Relationships between
Culture and Plant Life in the Upper
Great Lakes Region," Anthropological
Tapers No. 23 (Ann Arbor: Museum of
Anthropology, University of Michigan,
1964).
2 Yarnell, "Aboriginal Relationships
between Culture and Plant Life," 143.
3 Ife^.,98.
In an important ethnobotanical study, Richard Asa Yarnell identified
nearly 400 native plant species that were utilized by the American
Indian inhabitants of the upper Great Lakes. These represent
approximately 20 per cent of the total number of different species
that are native to the region. 2 The cumulative effects of centuries of
human-plant interactions may be far-reaching. Ethnobotanists have
observed that "subspecific taxa" are two to three times more com-
mon among plant genuses that possessed economic value, than
among those that do not. Among the plants that were utilized by
American Indians, genetic variation is about twice as great as the
variation among the total flora of the upper Great Lakes. 3 In the
case of intensively cultivated plants, such as corn, squash, beans,
sunflower, tobacco, and gourd, humans played a more powerful and
more obvious role in genetic manipulation.
With the exception of agricultural cultigens, the extent to
which human interactions are responsible for genetic divergence
remains unclear. What is more certain, is that aboriginal peoples
altered the environments that they inhabited by extending the range
of certain plants, and by intentionally and unintentionally altering
ecosystems to favor plants and animals that were beneficial to humans.
Although agriculture is the most obvious example of environmental
manipulation, the landscape was altered in more subtle ways, too.
Activities such as collection of food and firewood, disposal of
waste, and burning altered local soil conditions, increased light, and
modified humidity. The "natural" composition of plant and animal
communities in certain localities shifted in response to human
interventions. Indeed, in the upper Great Lakes region, such distur-
354
bances may have been beneficial to humans. Many valuable products
{e.g. maple sap, edible nut- and fruit-bearing trees) are relatively less
abundant in climax forest vegetation, and many economically valuable
species are less productive in dense stands. Berry bushes, for example,
produce most abundant in sunny clearings. Thus, as openings, aban-
doned agricultural fields may have remained "productive" and eco-
nomically valuable long after cultivation had ceased. 4 In terms of
both genetic and environmental characteristics, prehistoric humans
may have influenced the flora of the region to an unexpected degree.
It is difficult to extrapolate current ethnobotanical knowledge
to a relatively small environment like North Manitou Island without
engaging in a considerable degree of speculation. Accordingly, the
information presented in this appendix merely constitutes an outline
of possibilities. Although the following list identifies more than 150
North Manitou plant species that may have possessed utilitarian or
cultural value for prehistoric, aboriginal people, all of the most
economically useful plants {e.g. sugar maple, paper birch, blueberry,
etc) are available and more abundant on the mainland. Furthermore,
the modern vegetation of the mainland includes several useful plant
species that presently are absent from both north and south Manitou
islands. Prehistoric peoples may have exerted a greater impact on the
ecosystems of the mainland, where they probably engaged in more
intensive hunting and plant collecting.
Nonetheless, prehistoric occupation may have impacted North
Manitou's native plant communities, even if the island's flora was not
extensively exploited. The most likely influence is the possible intro-
duction and/or dispersal of native weedy species. Such species thrive
in disturbed habitats. According to Yarnell, likely candidates for
dispersal by humans include spreading dogbane {Apocynum
androsaemifolium) , a mint {Mentha arvensis), bedstraw {Galium spp.), a
chenopod {Chenopodium alburn), butterfly weed {Asdepias tuberosa), and
common milkweed {Asdepias sytiaca) . These species also possess
potential economic value, and all are represented in the island's
current flora. 5 All of these species produce small, wind-dispersed
seeds that could have reached the island without assistance from
humans. However, given the absence of significant numbers of
burrowing or large, grazing mammals on the island, humans may have
been the primary agents for creating the small patches of disturbed
ground necessary for these species. All would have thrived in the
abandoned camp sites left behind by prehistoric hunting and fishing
parties.
4 Ibid.,146.
5 Jfc/.,93.
355
Plant Species
Part Utilized
Use
Season
Common Name
Latin Name
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Balsam fir
Abies balsamea
S
•
•
Red maple
Acer rubrum
•
•
\
Sugar maple
Acer saccharum
s
•
•
•
•
i
Mountain maple
Acer spicatum
•
White baneberry, white cohosh
Actaea pachypoda
•
Red baneberry, snakeberry
Actea rubra
•
•
Maidenhair fern
Adiantum pedatum
s
•
Cocklebur
Agrimonia gryosepala
•
Wild onion
Allium cernuum
;
■ S
•
•
Wild leek, ramp
Allium tricoccum
i ••[
s
•
•
•
_,
•
Juneberry
Amelanchier laevis
•
Juneberry
Amelanchier sanguinea
/
/
•
bail,
■ ■
Canada anemone
Anemone canadensis
s
:
•
Thimbleweed
Anemone cylindrica
s
•
......;
Spreading dogbane
Apocynum androsaemifolium
•
•
•
;
Wild columbine
Aquilegia canadensis
s
•
Wild sarsaparillia
Aralia nudicaulis
f
•
•
:
Spikenard
Aralia racemosa
•
•
•
Bearberry
Arctostaphylos uva-ursi
s
S
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Indian turnip, jack-in-the-pulpit
Arisaema triphyllum
*
Common milkweed
Asclepias syriaca
•
•
•
Butterfly weed
Asclepias tuberosa
•
•
Large-leaved aster
Aster macrophyllus
•
•
•
Lady fern
Athyrium filix-femina
•
Yellow birch
Betula lutea
s
•
•
Paper birch
Betula papyrifera
•
•
Marsh marigold, cowslip
Caltha palustris
s
/
.
.
Blue bell, hare bell
Campanula rotundifolia
•
Plantain-leaved sedge
Carex plantaginea
•
New Jersey tea
Ceanothus americanus
•
Climbing bittersweet
Celastrus scandens
•
•
•
Leather leaf, cassandra
Chamaedaphne calyculata
s
•
•
Goosefoot, pigweed, lambsquarters
Chenopodium album
:
•
•
•
Strawberry blight; Indian paint
Chenopodium capitatum
i
■ :
.
j
•
•
j
Plant Species
Part Utilized
Use
Common Name
Latin Name
a
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Pipsissewa, wintergreen, waxflower
Chimaphila umbellata
•
Reindeer moss*
Cladonia rangiferina
s
•
Spring beauty
Claytonia caroliniana
•
•
•
Corn lily, blue-bead lily
Clintonia borealis
•
:
Gold thread, cankerroot
Coptic groenlandica
s
•
•
:
Pagoda dogwood, green osier
Cornus alternifolia
S
•
•
Bunchberry, dwarf cornel
Cornus canadensis
•
•
Round-leaved dogwood
Cornus rugosa
•
Red osier
Cornus stolonifera
•
•
•
•
Beaked hazelnut
Corylus cornuta
S
/
Hathorne, thornapple
Crataegus chrysocarpa
•
•
•
Hawthorn, thornapple
Crataegus spp.
•
•
•
•
•
Pepperroot, toothwort
Dentaria diphylla
S
•
Pepperrot, toothwort, crowfoot
Dentaria lacinata
S
■/
Bush honeysuckle
Diervilla lonicera
M-\ :
•
Sheild fern, crested wood fern
Dryopteris cristata
i
S
•
Scouring rush, field horsetail
Equisetum arvense
•
•
Wood horsetail
Equisetum sylvaticum
•
Philadelphia fleabane
Erigeron philadelphicus
•
Daisy fleabane, whitetop
Erigeron strigosus
•
Boneset, thoroughwort*
Eupatorium perfoliatum
•
Beech
Fagus grandifolia
s
•
/
•
White ash
Fraxinus americana
S
Black ash
Fraxinus nigra
S
•
•
•
Spring cleavers, goosegrass
Galium aparine
•
r
Small cleaver
Galium tinctorium
•
Moxie plum, creeping snowberry
Gaultheria hispidula
s
•
•
•i <f ■/ \ V
•
Teaberry, checkerberry, wintergreen
Gaultheria procumbens
s
s
•
•
•
•
/
Black huckleberry
Gaylussacia baccata
i i : ^/
Rattlesnake plantain
Goodyera repens
•
Rein orchis, bracted green orchis
Habenaria viridis
•
Witch hazel
Hamamelis virginiana
<r
s
•
•
•
Liverleaf
Hepatica acutiloba
s\
•
Liverleaf
Hepatica americana
•
•
•
Cow parsnip, masterwort
Heracleum maximum
t
! S
.
j r
•
•
•
I
'
1
:
Plant Species
Part Utilized
Use
Common Name
Latin Name
Q.
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E
3
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Winterberry, black alder
Ilex verticillata
•
Pale jewelweed
Impatiens pallida
•
•
Blue flag, poison flag
Iris versicolor
S
•
•
•
•
Soft rush
Juncus effusus
S
•
! : '
Common juniper
Juniperus communis
•
•
; : : I |._ :
Wild lettuce
Lactuca canadensis
•
Wood nettle
Laportea canadensis
S
•
•
""] r \ i ' ! : "
Eastern larch, tamarack
Larix laricina
/
S
•
•
Wood liliy
Lilium philadelphicum
S
•
•
Twin flower
Linnaea borealis
/
Puccoon
Lithospermum caroliniense
•
Fly honeysuckle*
Lonicera canadensis
•
Clubmoss
Lycopodium clavatum
•
Ground pine
Lycopodium complanatum
•
Ground pine
Lycopodium obscurum
•
Two-leaved Solomon's seal, scurvy berries
Maianthemum canadese
s
•
i •!• • j • i <
Mint
Mentha arvensis
S
•
•
Partridge berry
Mitchella repens
s
S
•
•
•
...••■•>:* : : : : : : :: - 1 : '■■ '
Mountain holly, catberry
Nemopanthus mucronata
•
•
...j_/.!.. v l_... ;'.:'._.
Sensitive fern
Onoclea sensibilis
•
Sweet jarvil, wooly sweet cicely
Osmorrhiza claytoni
i :
American hop-hornbeam
Ostrya virginiana
•
•
•
•
Woodbine, Virginia creeper
Parthendcissus quinquefolia
•
•
Common lousewort, wood betony
Pedicularis canadensis
•
•
•
White spruce
Picea glauca
•
Black spruce
Picea mariana
S
S
•
•
i ' ' -L ' i
Red pine
Pinus resinosa
s
S
•
•
1 ~ /y ' j
White pine
Pinus strobus
s
/
s
s
•
•
•
Pale plantain
Plantago rugelii
s
•
i '
Solomon's-seal
Polygonatum pubescens
S
; p j : _:
Solomon's seal
Polygonatum spp. (3)
•
•
•
_* :
Large-toothed aspen
Populus grandidentata
s
\<\: i l,lum
Quaking aspen
Populus tremuloides
s
•
i i
Marsh cinquefoil
Potentilla palustris
•
Sand cherry
Prunus pumila
\
'
'
1 *f . i
Plant Species
Part Utilized
Use
Common Name
Latin Name
O.
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■ <° i.
_ ! o 1 "£
*"■" +* .—
u- -1 g
Black cherry, rum cherry
Prunus serotina
~7\
•
Chokecherry
Prunus virginiana
•
•
i i : • i
Bracken fern
Pteridium aquillnum
S
Bracken fern
Pteridium quilinum
•
j ;
Wintergreen, shinleaf
Pyrola elliptica
:■■(!•'■ j
Red oak
Quercus rubra
V
•
•
•
Staghorn sumac
Rhus typhina
s
s
S
•
•
•
•
•
• • • ' • '
Prickly gooseberry, dogberry
Ribes cynosbati
s
•
/
Currant
Ribes hudsonianum
•
Smooth rose
Rosa blanda
•
Highbush blackberry
Rubus allegheniensis
S
•
' i ^'
y- i ■ -
Smooth blackberry
Rubus canadensis
•
Black raspberry
Rubus occidentaliis
/ .
Thimbleberry
Rubus parviflorus
•
Rubus pennsylvanicus
y
•
. '. : . : : : .
Dwarf raspberry
Rubus pubescens
s
•
Raspberry
Rubus strigosus
•
•
Blackeyed Susan, cone flower
Rudbeckia hirta
•
•
Shining willow
Salix lucida
s
•
•
Common elder*
Sambucus canadensis
•
•
■ l _: : [■ «#:■■
Red-berried elder
Sambucus pubens
•
Pitcher plant
Sarracenia purpurea
•
Wool grass
Scirpus cyperinus
•
■ I
Great bulrush, soft-stem bulrush
Scirpus validus
•
Great bulrush
Scirpus validus
•r
s
•
i ;••/:] ' <|
(False Solomon's-seal
Smilacina racemosa
s
•
Goldenrod
Solidago canadensis
•
•
1 . :x^:-i-:-: : :-: : ':":i;:v: :
Goldenrod
Solidago flexicaulis
•
Goldenrod
Solidago gigantea
•
•
— i- ■ ■■; — \ \ \ ;■ -
, _J _
Fragrant goldenrod*
Solidago graminifolia
S
•
Woundwort
Stachys palustris
•
Snowberry
Symphoricarpus albus
|
•
Skunk cabbage*
Symplocarpus foetidus
s
•
;' ; ;" i
I . •:
American yew
Taxus canadensis
s
•
Arborvitae, northern white cedar
Thuja occidentalis
s
s
•
•
•
•
• !
! !
ON
o
PlantSpecies
Part Utilized
Use
Common Name
Latin Name
Q.
TO
m
CO
E
3
£
o
a>
.fi
■B
o
1
(A
0)
c
o
c
2
jQ
I
<0
2
%
v>
A
3
\n
e
0)
A
3
*-*
o
o
(0
<s>
0)
"3S
*^
'5
i_
**-
o
o
u-
u
OS
TO
>
£0
0)
o
'■£
<u
S
.2
"c
o
E
O
o
E
Q
fti ' J H : ' : 1 "
■2 i I !
O : I- : : - I i. ■■:
o ;..■...-. ;~ • ; c § i !
— :>> : j. ' 1- J JB C £ = . jS : C
« c : it a. to 3 re re re |>
D < m in ( j In : j : il :j .$
1
c
"5
«
<0
(A
c
in
1
Basswood
Tilia americana
S
S
S
•
•
•
1 > 1 « '
Starflower
Trientalis borealis
V
: ,_.:.. [.. _;___. ;.. ..; | _.:
Trillium
Trillium grandiflorum
•
•
•
: ! i : ■
Hemlock
Tsuga canadensis
S
•
•
•
•
• '•;'■
Common cattail
Typha latifolia
■■'■y
•
/
•
• ! ;.:•_;
American elm
Low sweet blueberry, sweet hurts
Vaccinium augustifolium
s
•
•
T ■ /' ;" 1 ! ~"
Large cranberry
Vaccinium macrocarpon
•
•
. •! ; / •; •
Sour-top blueberry, Canada blueberry
Vaccinium myrtilloides
s
«^
•
•
! ! ^- ,
Small cranberry
Vaccinium oxycoccos
•
•
•
• • • /
Blueberry
Vaccinium spp.
:•
•
1 ..; ! : • : 1 ■
Dockmackie, arrowwood
Viburnum acerifolium
•
Highbush cranberry*
Viburnum opulus
^
•
•
• • ! • •
American dog violet
Viola conspersa
•
: ; __, : , | ^ j_... .
Downy yellow violet
Viola pubescens
y
•
y
■■■ ■; j--— 4 ;-_>:■ y" " ; " ""
Frost grape, riverbank grape
Vitis riparia
•
\ \
! 1
; 1 ^_i !
3
.=3
I/O
Appendices
Appendix C
Culturally Significant Non-native Plant Species on
North Manitou Island
361
Table C-l
Culturally Significant Non-native Plant Species on
North Manitou Island
1996
Common Name
Latin Name
Cultural Use
Location
Norway maple
Welsh oiiion
Chives
Garden asparagus
American chestnut
Spotted knapweed
Flowering quince
Common chicory
Lily-of-die- valley
Queen Anne's lace; wild carrot
Garden pink
Pin clover
Orange day-lily
Butternut
Mullein pink
Alfalfa
White sweet clover
Grape hyacinth
Oriental poppy
Garden syringa
Moss-pink
Kentucky bluegrass
Lombardy Poplar
Apricot
Sweet cherry
Plum
Pear
Apple
Blacklocust
Cabbage Rose
Sour dock
Acerplatanoides
Allium fistuhsutn L.
Allium schoenopmsum L.
Asparagus offidonalis L.
Castenata dentata
Centauria maculosa
Chaenomeks lagenaria
Cicborium intybus L.
Convallaria majalis
Daucus carota h,
Dianthus plumarius L.
Erodium dcutarium
Hemerocallis fuha
Juglans cinerea L.
Lychnis cownaria L.
Medicago sativa L.
Melilotus alba
Muscari atlanticum
Papaver orientak L.
Phi lade Ipbus coronariusL.
Phlox subulata L.
Poa pratensis (?)
Populus nigra L. par. italica
Prunus armeniaca L.
Prunus avium
Prunus domestica
Pyrus communis
Pyrus malus L.
Robiniapseudoacacia L.
Rosa centrifolia
Rumex crispus
O
G
G
G
G
W
o
w
o
w
o
w
o
G
O
A
A
O
o
o
o
o
o
G
A
G
G
A
O
O
W
North Manitou Village, Cottage Row
Garden patch near North Manitou Village
Lawn near Hans Halseth House
Adam and Mary Maleski farm, and elsewhere
South of Beuham orchard
Old fields
North Manitou Village
Airstrip, roadsides, North Manitou Village
North Manitou Village, Alstrom homestead
Old fields
North Manitou Village
North Manitou Village
North Manitou Village
Manitou Island Association farm and orchard, North Manitou Village
John Maleski place
John Maleski homestead and elsewhere
Fields and roadsides
North Manitou Village
Coast Guard Station, North Manitou Village
Adam and Alary Alaleski farm
North Manitou Cemetery, Adam and Mary Maleski farm
North Manitou Village, John Maleski place, Nedand/Anderson house
Coast Guard Station, Nordi Manitou Village
Cottage Row, below beach ridge
Manitou Island Association orchard, Nordi Manitou Village
Frederickson place
Nordi Manitou Village and elsewhere
Beuham orchard, North Manitou Village and elsewhere
Nordi Manitou Village, MIA north orchards
Adam and Mary Maleski farm, Cottage Row
Old fields
ON
to
A = agricultural
G = domestic garden/orchard
O = ornamental
W = weed
a
B
PL
Culturally Significant Non-native Plant Species on North manitou Island (continued)
common IN ame
Na
Latin Name
Cultural Use
Location
Sedum
Bladder campion
Billiard spirea
Spirea
Bridal wreath spirea
Lilac
Cormnon dandelion
Goat's beard
Hop clover
Hairy Vetch
Common periwinkle
Sedum spectabik (?)
Silene vulgaris
Spiraea X (Billiardi)
Spiraea trichocarpa
Spiraea X (Vanhouttei)
Sjringa vulgaris
Taraxacum offinale
Tragopogon dubius
Trifolium aureum
Vicia sativa
Vinca minor
O
W
O
o
o
o
\Y
w
A
A
O
Adam and Mary Maleski farm
Old fields, roadsides
Adam and Mary Maleski farm; Newhall cottage
North Manitou Village
Cottage Row
Nordi Manitou Village, Adam and Mary Maleski farm and elsewhere
Nordi Manitou Village, roadsides
Old fields, roadsides
John Maleski homestead
Large patches in fields
Cottage Row
s
a.
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Appendix D
Federal Census of Population
North Manitou Island, 1860-1920
364
Table D-l
Federal Census of Population
North Manitou Island
I860 1
Name
Age
Sex
Place of Birth
Occupation
Value of Real Estate
Value of Personal Estate
Gerkm, John
Gerkin, Margret
Gerkin, Dednck
Gerkin, Catharin
Gerkin, Ellen
36
36
11)
M
F
M
F
F
Hanover
Hanover
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Day Laborer
25''.'
Wickern, John
Wickern, Dorey
Wickern, Catharin
Wickern, Margret
33
23
4
1
M
F
F
F
Hanover
Hysen? [Hessian?]
New York
Michigan
Shoe Maker
180
Botohaen, Carson
Botohaen, Mary
Botohaen, Carson
Botohaen, John
26
30
3
1
M
F
M
M
Hanover
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Farmer
170
Fluker, Freehand
Fluker, Catharm
Fluker, Franny
Fluker, Catharin
Fluker, Andrew
Fluker, Maty
Matland, John
Matland, Lauren Ann
Matland, Emily
41
4)
16
13
20
30
32
IS
1
M
F
F
F
M
F
M
F
F
Prussian
Prussian
Prussian
Prussian
Prussian
Prussian
New York
Michigan
Michigan
Kiii
Domestic
Fanner & Fisherman
16M
Kid
Hemfrot, Fredrick
Hemfrot, Ehsabath
Hemtrot, William
Hemfrot, Ehsabath
3D
24
4
2
M
F
M
F
Prasme?
Bjrun Elm??
Michigan
Prussian
Day Laborer
150
ON
McCarthy, Henry
McCarthy, Mary An
McCarthy, Josef
McCarthy; Charles
28
29
12
4
M
F
M
M
Massachusetts
England
New York
New York
Day Labo
2(i(i
^3
1 Individual names are grouped according to household, and listed in the order that they appear on the manuscript schedules.
ON
North Manitou Island Population, 1860 (continued)
a.
:'
D
I
J.:
Name
Age
Sex
Place of Birth
Occupation
Value of Real Estate
Value of Personal Estate
Only, John
31
M
Only, Cellia
2"
F
Only, John A.
6
M
Only, William
5
M
Only, PoleyA.
3
F
Only, Mileden A.
10 months
M
OnlyWilai-d
10 months
M
Gustut, Peter
30
M
Gustut, Amoiu?
34
F
Gustut, John
34
M
Gustut, Charles A.
24
M
Anderson, John
29
M
Crofs, Frederick
46
M
Crofs, Catliann
4"
F
Crots, Mary
11
F
Crofs, Ehsabath
11
F
Crofs, Phillip
9
M
Crofs, Peter
6 months
M
Crofs, Caroline
9 months
F
Pflugen, Ferdinand
1,2
M
Ptlugen, Barbrel?
51
F
Pflugen, Andrew
18
M
Pflugen, Frances
16
F
Pflugen, Cafharm
12
F
Pflugen, Charles August
21
M
Stormer, Henty
29
M
Stormer, Catharin
24
F
Stormer, Greta
7
F
Stormer, Peter
5
M
Heir?, Podia?
49
M
Heif, Catharin
48
F
Heit, Henry
2d
M
Heif, Giato
16
F
Dalton, [ohn
34
M
Dalton, Manda
24
F
Dalton, John A.
5
M
Dalton Manda
5
F
Dalton, Ellen A.
I
F
Dalton Edward
418
M
New York
Day Laborer
Canada
New York
New York
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Sweden
Day Laborer
Sweden
Sweden
Sweden
Day Laborer
Sweden
Prusian
Farmer
Prusian
Prusian
Prusian
Prusian
Prusian
Michigan
Netenburg Sea
Fisherman
Byrnden
Netenburg Germany
Netenburg Germany
New York
Berden
Day Laborer
Germany
Day Laborer
Germany
Germany
Michigan
Norway
Day Laborer
Norway
Norway
Norway
New York
Farmer
Vermont
Wisconsin
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
130
19i i
150
Yil
Km
1'5
Km
North Manitou Island Population, 1860 (continued)
Na
Age
Place of Birth
Occupation
Value of Real Estate
Value of Personal Estate
Millet
, Carson
38
Millet
, Cathann
34
Millet
, Anna
13
Millet
, Cathann
5
Millet
,Mata
3
Miller, Margret
2
Haynes, Fredrick
35
Haynes, Anna
30
Haynes, Rosilla
3
Heliner, Christian
51)
Heltner, Jacob
19
Heliner, Andrew
18
Heliner, Rosilla
10
Helmet", George
ID
Helmer, John
9
Helmet", Anna M.
5
Gulluck?, John
2-)
Gulluck, Sophia
24
Flunayn, Thomas
45
Flunayn, Manerna
45
Flunayn, Charles
14
Flunayn, Daniel
12
Flunayn, Clansa
10
Flunayn, Mary
7
Flunayn, William
6
Flunayn, Sophia
4
Flunayn, Hellen
1
Half, Martin
35
Halt, Hannah
30
Half, John
6
Half, Henry
4
Halt; Martin
1
Burnes, Nickelson
34
Burnes, Margret
33
Burnes, Peter
3
Burnes, Mate?
3
Burnes, Henry
2
u>
ON
-J
M
F
F
F
F
F
M
F
F
M
M
M
F
M
M
F
M
F
M
F
M
M
F
F
M
F
F
M
F
M
M
M
M
F
M
F
M
Hanover
Hanover
Hanover
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Baden
Baden
Michigan
Sweden
Sweden
Sweden
Sweden
Sweden
Sweden
New York
Germany
Germany
New York
Vermont
New York
New York
New York
New York
New York
Illinois
Illinois
Hanover
Hanover
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Hanover
Hanover
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Day Laborer
2"5
Day Laborer
Day Laborer
15m
"5
Day Laborer
Day Laborer
15m
25m
Day Laborer
165m
Day Laborer
125
^3
'CO
North Manitou Island Population, 1860 (continued)
a.
:'
D
I
J.:
Name
Age
Sex
Place of Birth
Occupation
Value of Real Estate
Value of Personal Estate
Meyers, William
Meyers, Sophia
Halt; Cort?
Trumel, Bobos?
4(i
40
24
45
Lewany?, Hans
Lewany Mary
Lewany, Sophia
Lewany, Anna
Lewany, Martha
Lewany, Harnie??
Lewany Carey
Lewany, Charles
41
35
12
8
5
3
8r
Johnson, Arna
28
Johnson, H?
29
Johnson, John
5
Johnson, Charles
3
Johnson, Anna
7^
Johnson, Andrew
22
Shomaker, Jacob
30
Shomaker, Anna
30
Hanson, Frank
40
Stebones, Henry
2d
Bash, Nickelos
30
Bash, Catherine
28
Bash, Nickelos
1
Warren, John
44
Warren, Anna
40
Warren, Henry
Warren, John
12
10
Warren, Martin
8
Droy Peter
25
Droy, Francis
Droy Peter
33
11
Droy Daren
5
Droy, Mary
Droy, Phillip
3
1
.iths
M
F
M
M
M
F
F
F
F
M
F
M
M
F
M
M
F
M
M
F
M
M
M
F
M
M
F
M
M
M
M
F
M
M
F
M
Hamburg
Hamburg
Hamburg
Hamburg
Norway
Norway
Norway
Norway
Norway
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Michigan
Norway
Norway
Canada
Wisconsin
Michigan
Norway
Hanover
Hanover
Hanover
Hanover
Hanover
Hanover
Michigan
Hanover
Hanover
Hanover
Hanover
Hanover
France
France
France
New York
Michigan
Michigan
Day Laborer
Farmer
\\/i Spinnaker
100
20< i
Day Laborer
Day Laborer
Fisherman
Fisherman
Day Laborer
Day Laborer
Carpenter
100
200
500
20< i
Blacksmith
150
North Manitou Island Population, 1860 (continued)
Na
Age
Place of Birth
Occupation
Value of Real Estate
Value of Personal Estate
Droy Margret
44
F
Droy, Catherine
18
F
Droy, Louisa
14
F
Droy Lisa
12
F
Droy, Emily
9
F
Cliarney George
43
M
Ackly Frank?
39
M
Ackly Catherine
34
F
Scheer, Randolph
22
M
Scheer, Elisabath
15
F
Scheer, Batish
46
M
Gray?, John
42
M
Gray, Anna
32
F
Gray, Richard
12
M
Gray, Catherine
10
F
Gray, Emily
8
F
McCarta?, Daniel
55
M
McCarta, Margret
44
F
McCarta, Mariah
14
F
McCarta, Terry
12
M
McCarta, EHsa
10
F
McCarta, Margret
6
F
McCarta, EHsa
4
F
McCarta, Dennis
1
M
Wany?, Hans
40
M
Wany, Ana
30
F
Wany, Sophia
10
F
Wany, Anna
8
F
Wany, Mary
6
F
Wany, Hans
4
M
Wany, Charles
3
M
Wany, Caroline
3 months
F
Cnstpher, Amey
30
M
Cnstpher, Oceny
25
F
Cnstpher, John
5
M
Cnstpher, Charles
2
M
Cnstpher, Anna
I
F
o
France
France
France
France
France
France
Switzerland
Werdenburgi
Switzerland
Switzerland
Balaiy
Hanover
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Leeland
Leeland
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Norway
Norway
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Norway
Norway
Norway
Wisconsin
Michigan
150
Day Laborer
Day Laborer
Day Laborer
Day Laborer
Day Laborer
16(1
100
200
Fisherman
200
Carriage Maker
300
Fanner
100
^3
00
-J
o
North Manitou Island Population, 1860 (continued)
a.
:'
D
I
J.:
Name
Age
Sex
Place of Birth
Occupation
Value of Real Estate
Value of Personal Estate
Dolton, Henry
33
M
Dolton, Amanda
24
F
Dolton, John Henry
5
M
Dolton, Mary
3
F
Dolton, Sophia
1
F
Dolton, Emmy
2 months
F
Clyne?, Joseph
40
M
Clyne, Mary
55
F
Clyne, Mary
10
F
Clyne, John
7
M
Clyne, Charles
5
M
Clyne, Joseph
3
M
Charvey, George
55
M
Cargeseon?, Chetle?
37
M
Cargeseon?, Camilla
37
F
Cargeseon?, Cleeda
11
F
Cargeseon?, Camieka
4
F
Cargeseon?, Betsy
1
F
Wilis, Eleene
27
M
Lompiy, Francis
35
M
Lompry, Ruth
2"
F
Lompry, Jerry F.
7
M
Lompry, Ellen
5
F
Lompry, Ida
3
F
Petes, Nina
54
M
Petes, Margeanna
34
F
Petes, Peter
9
M
Petes, John
6
M
Petes, Lucy
4
F
Petes, Nickelos
3 months
M
Bowen, Stephen
54
M
Frank, John
33
M
Donkem, Simon
20
M
Skerner, Edward
22
M
Tompson, Thomas
22
M
Nlwijts?, Hons?
16
M
Ferry, James
21
M
Dagon, John
20
M
New York
Vermont
Wisconsin
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Norway
Norway
Norway
Illinois
Michigan
Michigan
France
Norway
Norway
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
New York
Canada East
New York
New York
New York
New York
Prussia
France
New York
New York
New York
Michigan
Bavary [Bavaria?]
Bavary
New York
England
Norway
New York
Michigan
Bavary
Day Laborer
15D
Day Laborer
175
Day Laborer
90
160
Day Laborer
Blacksmith
150
Fisherman
150
Farmer
Farm Laborer
225
North Manitou Island Population, 1860 (continued)
Na
Age
Place of Birth
Occupation
Canada East
Fisherman
Ireland
Ireland
Ireland
Norway
Farmer
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
New York
New York
New York
New York
New York
New York
Denmark
Farmer
New York
New York
New York
France
Fisherman
France
New York
New York
Norway
Day Laborer
New York
Carpenter
New York
New York
New York
New York
New York
New York
Day Laborer
Michigan
Michigan
New York
Domestic
New York
Day Laborer
Pennsylvania
New York
New York
New York
Value of Real Estate
Value of Personal Estate
Mestland, James
27
Cam, Michel
48
McDonald, Michal
45
McDonald, Richard
46
Lee, Charles
22
Sits, George
Sits, Betsy
Sits, George
Sits, Emolme
52
45
1"
13
Sits, Elisabath
12
Sits, John
10
Sits, Liman
8
Sits, Almina
4
Curts, Christopher
30
Curts, Anna
26
Curts, Mary Jane
Curts, Elisabath
4
2
Menllen, Joseph
Menllen, Margret
Menllen, Joseph
Menllen, Frank
31
20
4
2
Lee, Edward
21
Stnclan, Charles
49
Stnclan, Betsy
Stnclan, Orlando
32
12
Stnclan, Edwm
8
Stnclan, Alonzo
3
Stnclan, Alice J.
1
Barett, Charles L.
30
Barett, Henry
Barett, Ada
8
3
Winston?, Mary
38
Bronton?, Harrison
21
Bronton, Margret
Graham, Matilda
25
10
Graham, Francis
4
Graham, William H.
3
-J
M
M
M
M
M
M
F
M
F
F
M
M
F
M
F
F
F
M
F
M
M
M
M
F
M
M
M
F
M
M
F
F
M
F
F
F
M
250
100
50
150
2(1(1
15m
200
150
5o
^3
-J
to
North Manitou Island Population, 1860 (continued)
a.
:'
D
I
J.:
Name
Age
Sex
Place of Birth
Occupation
England
Day Laborer
Bavary
Day Laborer
Norway
Day Laborer
Norway
Day Laborer
Norway
Domestic
Norway
Day Laborer
Norway
Norway
Norway
Norway
Norway
Norway
Norway
Norway
Norway
Value of Real Estate
Value of Personal Estate
Robertson, Ena
28
Harries, Jacob
42
Thompson, Nelson
25
Johnson, Robert
21
Anderson, Susan
18
Hageson, Nelson
23
Carson, Oley
26
Olson, Guilder
35
Larson, Thomas
22
Larson, Aaron
24
Johson, Lewis
21
Hanson, Fargus
22
Nelson, Allen
22
Herald, Edward
26
Herald, Conate
22
M
M
M
M
F
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
200
"5
50
50
150
100
125
60
100
80
70
30
150
Table D-2
Federal Census of Population
North Manitou Island
1870 1
Name
Age
Sex
Place of Birth
Father
Foreign Born?
Mother
Foreign Born?
Occupation
Value of
Real Estate ($)
Value of
Personal Estate ($)
Enockun?, Godgen
30
M
Noi"way
Y
Y
Laborer
Enockun, Came
28
F
Norway
Y
Y
Keeping House
Enockun, Severt
4
M
Michigan
Y
Y
At Home
Enockun, Amelia
2
F
Michigan
Y
Y
At Home
Robinson, Hugh
32
M
Ireland
Y
Y
Butcher
3000
Seiber, Anthony
21
M
Prussia
Y
Y
Carpenter
Johnson, Hans
52
M
Norway
Y
Y
Laborer
Johnson, Hannah
33
F
Norway
Y
Y
Keeping House
Johnson, Hans
17
M
Norway
Y
Y
At Home
Johnson, Lewis
16
M
Norway
Y
Y
At Home
Johnson, Gerhard
12
M
Norway
Y
Y
At Home
Johnson, Hans
2
M
Norway
Y
Y
At Home
Johnson, Gamena
6
F
Norway
Y
Y
At Home
Johnson, Larson,
4
F
Norway
Y
Y
At Home
Smith, John
55
M
Bavaria
Y
Y
Laborer
Smith, Catherine
43
F
Baden
Y
Y
Keeping House
Smith, Margaret
20
F
Canada
Y
Y
At Home
Smith, Catharine
14
F
Canada
Y
Y
At Home
Smith, Henry
12
M
Canada
Y
Y
At Home
Smith, Margaret
20
F
Canada
Y
Y
At Home
Smith, Catharine
14
F
Canada
Y
Y
At Home
Smith, Henry
12
M
Canada
Y
Y
At Home
Smith, Adam
8
M
Canada
Y
Y
At Home
Smith, John
5
M
Canada
Y
Y
At Home
Smith, Sophma
3
F
Canada
Y
Y
At Home
Oleson, Peter
37
M
Norway
Y
Y
Laborer
Oleson, Annie
25
F
Norway
Y
Y
Keeping House
Christ, Andrew
24
M
Sweden
Y
Y
Laborer
Christ, Lucy
30
F
Sweden
Y
Y
Keeping House
Anderson, Andrew
4"
M
Norway
Y
Y
Fisherman
Fredenckson, Henry
29
M
Denmark
Y
Y
Fisherman
>
Paetsthow, Fritz
25
M
Denmark
Y
Y
Fisherman
^3
(jo
individual names are grouped according to household, and listed in the order that they appear on the manuscript schedules.
00
North Manitou Island Population, 1870 (continued)
a.
:'
D
I
J.:
Name
Age
Sex
Place of Birth
Father
Foreign Born?
Mother
Occupation
Foreign Born?
Y
Laborer
Y
Keeping House
Y
Laborer
Y
Laborer
Y
Keeping House
Y
At Home
Y
At Home
Y
Laborer
Y
Keeping House
Y
Y
Laborer
At Home
X
Wood Merchant
X
Keeping House
X
At Home
N
At Home
N
Y
Y
Clerk at wood dock
Fisherman
Clerk in store
Value of
Real Estate ($)
Value of
Personal Estate ($)
Oleson, Lewis
55
M
Norway
Y
Oleson, Margaret
52
F
Xorway
Y
Linn, Andrew
25
M
Sweden
Y
Luneburg, Jacob
33
M
Sweden
Y
Luneburg, Hannah
30
F
Sweden
Y
Luneburg, Andrew
10
M
Michigan
Y
Luneburg, Ian
1
F
Michigan
Y
Swan, Peter
54
M
Sweden
Y
Swan, Sarah
50
F
Sweden
Y
Swan, James
25
M
Sweden
Y
Swan, Lucy
16
F
Sweden
Y
Pickard, Xicholas
53
M
Xew York
X
Pickard, Nancy
50
F
Xew York
X
Pickard, Jessie
13
F
Xew York
X
Pickard, Burnside
8
M
Xew York
X
Chnsman, Jacob
58
M
New York
X
Xorris, Donna
76
M
Canada
Y
Thompson, Nelson
29
M
Norway
Y
Thompson, Peter
40
M
Norway
Y
Larson, Ole
55
M
Norway
Y
Larson, Mary
50
F
Notway
Y
Birch, John
49
M
Poland
Y
Birch, Xancy
47
F
Poland
Y
Chickey, Rudolph
35
M
Poland
Y
Chickey, John
32
M
Poland
Y
Crandall, William
37
M
New York
N
Crandall, Sarah
22
F
New York
N
Buss, Leander
22
M
New York
N
Buss, Anna
20
F
New York
X
Callkelfine, Charlie
25
M
Sweden
Y
Enckson Alfred
40
M
Sweden
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
X
X
X
X
X
X
Laborer
Carpenter
Keeping House
Laborer
Keeping House
Laborer
Laborer
Coal Dealer
Keeping House
Keeping Boarding House
Keeping House
Laborer
Laborer
4000
llo
1000
North Manitou Island Population, 1870 (continued)
Na
Age
Place of Birth
Father
Foreign Born?
Mother
Foreign Born?
Occupation
Value of
Real Estate ($)
Value of
Personal Estate ($)
Creager, Matluas
35
M
Poland
Creager, jane
33
F
Poland
Creager, John
10
M
Poland
Creager, jane
8
F
Poland
Creager, Matthias
6
M
Michigan
Creager, Mary
31
F
Michigan
Stubengan?, Joseph
34
M
Poland
Stubengan, Elizabeth
30
F
Poland
Stubengan, Jamie
8
M
Michigan
Stubengan, Mary
5
F
Michigan
Stubengan, Joseph
3
M
Michigan
Creager, John
36
M
Prussia
Creager, Elizabeth
32
F
Prussia
Creager, Catherine
6
F
Michigan
Creager, John
4
M
Michigan
Creager, Mary
2
F
Michigan
Quest?, Adam
30
M
Sweden
Trust, George
28
M
Denmark
Harman, John
35
M
Saxony
Lherku, Adam
19
M
Poland
Raymer, George
40
M
Canada
Raymer, Louisa
36
F
Canada
Raymer, Lewie
18
M
Canada
Raymer, Carrie
9
F
Canada
Raymer, James
6
M
Canada
Raymer, George
3
M
Canada
Luneburg, John
35
M
Sweden
Luneburg, Peter
30
M
Sweden
Hanson, Frank
54
M
Hanover
Hanson, Christina
42
F
Sweden
Tramel, Barbis?
45
M
Bavaria
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
N
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Laborer
Keeping House
At Home
At Home
At Home
At Home
Laborer
Keeping House
At Home
At Home
At Home
Laborer
Keeping House
At Home
At Home
At Home
Fisherman
Fisherman
Fisherman
Laborer
Fisherman
Keeping House
At Home
At Home
At Home
At Home
Laborer
Laborer
Laborer
Keeping House
Laborer
25m
-J
s
a.
Table D-3
Federal Census of Population
North Manitou Island
1880 1
Name
Relationship Sex Age
Marital Status
Place of Birth
Father's Place of Birth
Mother's Place of Birth
Occupation
Anderson, Andrew
Head
M
54
Single
Sweden
Sweden
Sweden
Fanner
Swan, Gustav O.
Head
Swan, Mary
Wire
Charlson, Nelson
Head
Charlson, Johanna
Wire
Charlson., William
Son
Charlson, Amanda Pauline
Daughter
Nelson, John
Head
Enckson, Andrew
Boarder
M
58
Married
F
62
Married
M
26
Married
F
23
Married
M
2
F
6 mos.
M
40
Widowed
M
49
Widowed
Sweden
Sweden
Sweden
Sweden
Michigan
Michigan
Sweden
Sweden
Sweden
Sweden
Sweden
Sweden
Sweden
Sweden
Sweden
Sweden
Sweden
Sweden
Sweden
Sweden
Sweden
Sweden
Sweden
Sweden
Fanner
Keeping House
Fisherman
Keeping House
Fisherman
Fisherman
Johnson, Samuel
Head
M
28
Single
Denmark
Denmark
Denmark
Fi she mi an
Floyd, John
Floyd, Maria
Floyd, George
Floyd, John
Floyd, Edward
Floyd, Mary
Gallagher, Francis
Hanson, Frank
Larson, Larson
Larson, Mary
Larson, Josephine
Larson, Rudolph
Larson, William
Larson, Charles
Chickee, Frances
Chickee, Frances
Chickee, Martha
Chickee, Mary
Tramel, Baptist
Head
Wife
Son
Son
Son
Daughter
Step Son
Head
Head
Wife
Daughter
Son
Son
Son
Head
Daughter
Daughter
Daughter
Head
M
.38
F
28
M
8
M
5
M
3
F
1
M
11
Married
Married
M
64
Widowed
M
38
Married
F
24
Married
F
6
M
M
M
4
2
5 mos.
F
24
Widowed
F
11
F
6
F
3
M
CO
Single
Massachusetts
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Hanover
Sweden
Wisconsin
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Prussia
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Baer
Ireland
Scotland
Massachusetts
Massachusetts
Massachusetts
Massachusetts
Ireland
Hanover
Sweden
Ireland
Sweden
Sweden
Sweden
Sweden
Prussia
Prussia
Prussia
Prussia
Baer
Ireland
Canada
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Canada
Hanover
Sweden
Ireland
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Prussia
Prussia
Prussia
Prussia
Baer
Fisherman
Keeping House
No occupation
Farmer
Fanner
Keeping House
Wa s he r- worn a n
At Home
Fanner
-J
1 Individual names are grouped according to household, and listed in the order that they appear on the manuscript schedules.
a
B
PL
North Manitou Island Population, 1880 (continued)
Na
Relationship Sex Age
Marital Status
Place of Birth
Father's Place of Birth
Mother's Place of Birth Occupation
-J
Malshiska, Adam
Head
M
26
Married
Prussia
Prussia
Malshiska, Mary
Wire
F
28
Married
Prussia
Prussia
Malshiska, Mary
Daughter
F
7
Wisconsin
Prussia
Malshiska, Anastacia
Daughter
F
5
Wisconsin
Prussia
Malshiska, Elizabeth
Daughter
F
4
Wisconsin
Prussia
Malshiska, Josephine
Daughter
F
1
Wisconsin
Prussia
Malshiska, Martha
Daughter
F
2 mos.
Wisconsin
Prussia
Etli, Francis
Head
M
55
Married
Switzerland
Switzerland
Etli, Anna
Wire
F
4S
Married
Prussia
Prussia
Strang, John
Head
M
46
Married
Poland
Poland
Strang, Frances
Wife
F
39
Married
Poland
Poland
Strang, Michael
Son
M
8
Wisconsin
Poland
Strang, John
Son
M
6
Michigan
Poland
Strang, Victoria
Daughter
F
5
Michigan
Poland
Strang, Francis
Son
M
3
Michigan
Poland
Strang, Alicia
Daughter
F
1
Michigan
Poland
Olsen, Hans
Head
M
36
Married
Norway
Norway
Olsen, Dora
Wife
F
3G
Married
Hamburgh
Hamburgh
Olsen, Charles Q
Son
M
2
Michigan
Norway
Pastschow, George
Head
M
66
Married
Mecklenburgh
Mecklenburgh
Pastschow, Carolina
Wife
F
62
Married
Mecklenburgh
Mecklenburgh
Pastschow, Frederick
Son
M
35
Single
Mecklenburgh
Mecklenburgh
Pastschow, Elizabeth
Daughter
F
30
Single
Denmark
Mecklenburgh
Pastschow, John
Son
M
26
Single
Denmark
Mecklenburgh
Pastschow, Henry
Son
M
22
Single
Denmark
Mecklenburgh
Pastschow, Charles
Son
M
28
Married
Denmark
Mecklenburgh
Pastschow, Margarett
Wife
F
26
Married
Denmark
Denmark
Pastschow, George
Son
M
1
Denmark
Denmark
Fredericks on, Annail?
M
39
Married
Denmark
Denmark
Fredenckson, Johannah
Wife
F
43
Married
Denmark
Denmark
Fredenckson, George
Son
M
11
Denmark
Denmark
Fredenckson, Maria
Daughter
F
10
Denmark
Denmark
Fredenckson, Helena
Daughter
F
8
Denmark
Denmark
Fredenckson, Matilda
Daughter
F
5
Denmark
Denmark
Fredenckson, Victonna
Sister
F
24
Denmark
Denmark
Buss, Daniel
Head
M
36
Married
New York
New York
Buss, Mary
Wife
F
36
Married
Michigan
New York
Buss, Jemmnna?
Mother
F
64
Widowed
New York
New York
Buss, Leander
Son
M
9
Michigan
New York
Buss, Lulu
Daughter
F
5
Minnesota
New York
Prussia
Prussia
Prussia
Prussia
Prussia
Prussia
Prussia
Switzerland
Prussia
Poland
Poland
Poland
Poland
Poland
Poland
Poland
Norway
Hamburgh
Hamburgh
Fisherman
Keeping House
Mecklenbur
Mecklenbur
Mecklenbur
Mecklenbur
Mecklenbur
Mecklenbur
Mecklenbur
Denmark
Denmark
Denmark
Denmark
Denmark
Denmark
Denmark
Denmark
Denmark
New York
Canada
New York
Canada
Canada
:gh
:gh
:gh
:gh
:gh
:gh
:gh
Farmer
Keeping House
Farmer
Keeping House
Blacksmith
Keeping House
Fisheiman
Keeping House
Sailor
No occupation
Sailor
Fisherman
Carpenter
Keeping House
Fisheiman
Keeping House
At Home
At Home
Wood Merchant
Keeping House
No Occupation
^3
-J
00
North Manitou Island Population, 1880 (continued)
a
a.
Name
Relationship
Sex Age
Marital Status
Place of Birth
Father's Place of Birth
Mother's Place of Birth
Occupation
o
Wiles, Charles
Head
M
55
Married
New York
New York
Wiles, Lucy
Wife
F
39
Married
New York
Scotland
Wiles, Sarah
Daughter
F
11
Michigan
New York
Wiles, Charlotte
Daughter
F
9
Michigan
New York
New York
Canada
New York
New York
Laborer
■4.
Keeping House
At Home
Table D-4
Federal Census of Population
North Manitou Island
1900 1
Name
Relationship
Sex
Age
Marital
Status
Years
Married
Place of Birth
Father's
Place of Birth
Mother's
Place of Birth
Year of
Immigration
Occupation
Anderson, John
Head
M
40
Married
lOyrs.
Norway
1882
Fanner
Anderson, Ildra
Wife
F
26
Married
lOyrs.
Norway
1889
Keeping House
Anderson, Albert O.
Son
M
11
Noiway
Norway
At School
Anderson, Ada J.?
Daughter
F
8
Noiway
Norway
At School
Anderson, Martin N.
Son
M
4
Norway
Norway
Anderson, George B.
Daughter
M
1
Noiway
Norway
McKunnan, John
Head
M
Samuelson, Fred
Boarder
M
28
Single
Wisconsin?
Lightkeeper
Fredenckson, Henry
Head
M
59
Married
20yrs.
Denmark
Fisherman
Johnson?, John
Head
M
53
Married
29 yrs.
Sweden
1870
Fanner
Johnson, Annistme?
Wife
F
54
Married
29 yrs.
Sweden
1870
Keeping House
Johnson, ?
Child
Johnson, ?
Child
Johnson, ?
Child
Olestrom, Christian
Head
M
48
Married
26 yrs.
Sweden
1884
Fanner
Olestrom, Nartha?
Wife
F
45?
Married
26 yrs.
Sweden
Keeping House
Olestrom, ?
Child
Olestrom, ?
Child
Swenson, Peter
Head
M
38
Married
3 yrs.
Sweden
1885
Fanner
Swenson, Mary
Wife
F
27
Married
3 yrs.
Norway
1895
Keeping House
Swenson, The ob a Ida
Daughter
F
7
Norway
Sweden
Norway
1895
Swenson, Peter M.
Son
M
2
Michigan
Sweden
Norway
Drow, Philip
Head
M
4)
Married
20 yrs.
Michigan
France
France
Fanner
Drow, Ellenora?
Wife
F
37
Married
20 yrs.
Illinois
Keeping House
Drow, Napohan
Son
M
12
Drow, Josephine
Daughter
F
K)
Drow, Salma?
Daughter
F
8
Drow, Elizabeth
Daughter
F
6
Drow, Noah
Son
M
5
£
Drow, Ernest
Son
M
2
Drow, Loily?
Daughter
F
3 mos.
-J
1 Individual names are grouped according to household, and listed in the order that they appear on the manuscript schedules.
'CO
o
North Manitou Island Population, 1900 (continued)
I
J.:
Name
Relationship Sex
Age
Marital
Status
Years
Married
Place of Birth
Father's
Place of Birth
Mother's
Place of Birth
Year of
Immigration
Occupation
Carlson, Nelson
Head
M
43
Married
23 yrs.
Sweden
Carlson, Sophia
Wife
F
42
Married
23 yrs.
Sweden
Carlson, William
Son
M
22
Carlson, Oscar
Son
M
17
Carlson, Hilda
Daughter
F
15
Carlson, Jered
Son
M
13
Carlson, Alfred
Son
M
11
Carlson, Millie
Daughter
F
9
Carlson, Adam
Son
M
"
Carlson, Esther
Daughter
F
4
Carlson, Irving
Son
M
2
Carlson, Baby
Son
M
1 mo.
Male ski, Adam
Head
M
52
Married
30 yrs.
Poland/Germ.
Maleski, Christina
Wife
F
51
Married
30 yrs.
Poland/Germ.
Maleski, Frederick
Son
M
17
Maleski, John
Son
M
14
Anderson, Christian (?) Head
Firestone, Albert Head
Felin, Nicholas Boarder
M
M
M
1876
Fanner
1876
Keeping House
Farm Laborer
Farm Laborer?
At school
At school
At school
At school
At school
48
111,,
Germany
Germany
1878
Fisherman
1878
Keeping House
At School
At School
Fisherman
Farm Laborer
Carpenter
Table D-5
Federal Census of Population
North Manitou Island
1910
Na
Relationship Sex Age
Marital
Status
Years
Married
Place of Birth
Father's
Place of Birth
Mother's
Place of Birth
Year of
Immigration
Occupation
Dustin, Loml?
Head
M
47
Married
9
Dustin, Anna
Wife
F
37
Married
9
Dustin, George F.
Son
M
8
Dustin, Fredie? H.
Son
M
6
Smith, Cass?
Head
M
32
Married
1
Smith, Emma
Wife
F
26
Married
1
Carter, George
Head
M
54
Married
24
Carter, Emma
Wife
F
40
Married
24
Carter, Isabell
Daughter F
16
Single
Birdsey, Mary
Servant
F
19
Single
St. Peters, ????
Boardei
M
69
Widowed?
Pugh, Walter
Boardei
M
28
Single
Newhall, John
Boardei
M
27
Single
Voice, Harold
Boardei
M
20
Single
Johnson, Charles
Boardei
M
20
Single
Johnson, ????
Boardei
M
25
Single
Ayers, George
Boardei
M
22
Single
Ayers, ????
Boardei
M
24
Single
Maleska, Adam
Head
M
57
Married
37
Maleska, Mary
Wife
F
58
Married
37
Maleska, Paul
Son
M
26
Single
Maleska, John
Son
M
24
Single
Berethaupt?, Bart?
Head
M
25
Married
1
Berethaupt, Mary
Wife
F
27?
Married
1
Berethaupt, Dorothea?
D aught
tt F
5 mos.?
Sheriff, Frank
Head
M
26
Married
Sheriff, Violet
Wife
F
21
Married
Miller, Fred
Head
M
26
Married
4
Miller, Ellen
Wife
F
26
Married
4
Miller, Walter-
Son
M
3
Miller, Hazel
D aught
sr F
18 mos
00
Anderson, Abraham
Head
M
44
Married
9
K^
AnrWcrm A,„™
m,fr
R
■\r~,
A \„ m vA
q
Illinois
Ohio
Ohio
Michigan
?
?
Michigan
Illinois
Ohio
Michigan
Illinois
Ohio
Michigan
Germany
New York
Michigan
Norway
Norway
New York
P
?
?
Canada (Eng.)
Canada (Fr.)
Canada (Eng.)
?
Michigan
New York
Canada (Eng.)
Michigan
New York
New York
Canada (Fr.)
Canada (Fr.)
Canada (Fr.)
1
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Illinois
Illinois
New York
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Sweden
Sweden
Sweden
Sweden
Sweden
Sweden
1
Michigan
New York
New York
Michigan
New York
New York
Germany
Germany
Germany
Germany
Germany
Germany
Michigan
Germany
Germany
Michigan
Germany
Germany
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Norway
Germany
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
England
England
Michigan
Unknown
Michigan
Germany
Germany
Germany
1
Michigan
Norway
New York
Michigan
Germany
Michigan
Michigan
Germany
Michigan
1852
19M0
Norway
Norway
Norway
1884
1885
USLS Station
USLS Station
Engineer
Hotel
Hotel Servant
USLS Station (Captain)
USLS Station
Fruit Fanner
General Store Manager
Farm Laborer
Farm Laborer
Laborer
Laborer
Horse Fanner
Rural Route Mail Carrier
Fisherman
Laborer
Laborer
USLS Station
USLS Station
s
a.
'CO
to
North Manitou Island Population, 1910 (continued)
a
I
5-:
Name
Relationship Sex Age
Marital
Status
Years
Married
Place of Birth
Father's
Place of Birth
Mother's
Place of Birth
Year of
Immigration
Occupation
Anderson, Alfred
Son
M
8
Michigan
Noiway
Michigan
Anderson, Ethel
Daughter
F
6
Michigan
Norway
Michigan
Anderson, Margeret
Daughter
F
2
Michigan
Noiway
Michigan
Pastschow, Johnnie
Head
M
26
Married
3
Michigan
Germany
Sweden
Pastschow, Bessie
Wife
F
19
Married
3
Michigan
Indiana
Norway
Pastschow, Albert
Son
M
2
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Halstead, Hans
Head
M
42
Married
IS
Norway
Norway
Norway
Halstead, Ida
Wife
F
39
Married
IS
Norway
Noiway
Norway
Halstead, Anna
Sister
F
50?
Single
Norway
Norway
Norway
Nelson, Bertha
Sister-in-law
F
24
Single
Michigan
Noiway
Norway
Garden?, William
Head
M
37
Married
13
Michigan
United States
Ohio
Gorden, Letta
Wire
F
31
Married
13
Michigan
Canada (Eng.)
New York
Gorden, Gladys
Daughter
F
11
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Gorden, Irv?
Son
M
9
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Gorden, Ernest
Son
M
6
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Gorden, Ray
Son
M
4
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Gorden, Minnie
Daughter
F
3 mos.
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Patschow, John
Head
M
54
Single
Denmark
German
German
Bournique?, Alva? L.
Head
M
44
Married
8
Illinois
France
France
Bournique, Mary
Wife
F
27
Married
8
Missouri
Ohio
Ohio
Bournique, Elizabeth
Daughter
F
7
Illinois
Illinois
Missouri
Bournique, Mary L.
Daughter
F
3
Illinois
Illinois
Missouri
Johnson, Reginald?
Head
M
2'-")
Married
3
Sweden
Sweden
Sweden
Johnson, Catherine
Wife
F
21
Married
3
Michigan
Michigan
France
Johnson, Evelyn
Daughter
F
18 mos.
Michigan
Sweden
Michigan
Cornell, Edward
Head
M
4 1 -")
Married
15
Illinois
New York
New York
Cornell, Johanna
Wife
F
42
Married
15
Norway
Noiway
Norway
Cornell, Flo
Daughter
F
10
Wisconsin
Illinois
Norway
Cornell, Edna J.
Daughter
F
2
Wisconsin
Illinois
Norway
Cornell, Wanette
Daughter
F
6 mos.
Michigan
Illinois
Norway
Wright, Ross F.
Boarder
M
32
Single
Wisconsin
New York
Wisconsin
Feilen, Nicholas
Head
M
58
Single
Illinois
Germany
Genii any
Johnson?, John P.
Head
M
63
Married
40
Sweden
Sweden
Sweden
Johnson, Wandla
Wife
F
67
Married
40
Sweden
Sweden
Sweden
1888
US Mail Carrier
USLS Station
Odd Jobs
18~2
1888
1SS"
Fisherman
Dancing Instructor
Thud Light?
USLH Service
Lightkeeper
Carpenter
Fanner
North Manitou Island Population, 1910 (continued)
Name
Relationship Sex Age
Marital
Status
Years
Married
Place of Birth
Father's
Place of Birth
Mother's
Place of Birth
Year of
Immigration
Occupation
'CO
Swenson, Peter
Head
M
4 1 -")
Married
13
Sweden
Sweden
Sweden
Swenson, Mane
Wife
F
37
Married
13
Norway
Norway
Norway
Swenson, Enos
Son
M
12
Michigan
Sweden
Norway
Swenson, Eva L.
Daughter
F
14 mos.
Michigan
Sweden
Norway
White, Andrew
Head
M
44?
Married
24
Ohio
Scotland
Scotland
White, Clarah
Wife
F
42
Married
24
Michigan
Ohio
Ohio
White, Clarah
Son
M
20
Single
Michigan
Ohio
Michigan
White, Esther
Daughter
F
9
Michigan
Ohio
Michigan
Halverson, Billi?
Boarder
F
27
Single
Michigan
Norway
Norway
Grosvenor, Dorge?
Head
M
41
Married
13
Ohio
United States
Connecticut
Grosvenor, Dora
Wife
F
55
Married
13
Ohio
Ohio
Connecticut
Murs,Fred
Step Son
M
37
Married
12
Indiana
Pennsylvania
Ohio
Lothschute, Iva
Daughter
F
17
Married
1
Michigan
Ohio
Michigan
Lothschute, Tracy
Son
M
16
Single
Michigan
Ohio
Michigan
Lothschute, Margene?
Grand-daughter
F
3 mos.
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Nurter?, Clyde H.
Head
M
33
Married
3
Indiana
New York
Pennsylvania
Nurfer, Dena
Wife
F
27
Married
3
Michigan
Norway
Norway
Nurter, Claire
Daughter
F
2
Michigan
Indiana
Michigan
Nurter, Karl A.
Son
M
10 mos.
Michigan
Indiana
Michigan
Kimmson?, Henry
Head
M
29
Married
1
Michigan
Germany
Michigan
Kimmson, Emma
Wife
F
22
Married
1
Michigan
New York
Michigan
Gray?, Bert
Head
M
39
Married
4
Michigan
Unknown
Unknown
Gray, Rose
Wife
F
22
Married
4
Ohio
Germany
Germany
Edml, Noah
Head
M
30
Married
6
Michigan
Sweden
Ireland
Ednil, Susan
Wife
F
30
Married
Michigan
Ireland
Ireland
Edml, Hazel
Daughter
F
3
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Clark, John
Head
M
24
Married
2
Michigan
Michigan
Vermont
Clark, Ada
Wife
F
20
Married
2
Maryland
England
England
Clark, Anthony
Son
M
7 mos.
Michigan
Michigan
Maryland
Clark, Arthur
Brother
M
20
Single
Michigan
Michigan
Vermont
Oleson, Eisten?
Head
M
55
Married
2"
Norway
Norway
Norway
Oleson, Ellen
Wife
F
51
Married
2"
Norway
Norway
Norway
1881
Fisherman
Saw Mill ????
Saw Mill Engineer
Teacher
Saw Mill
Odd Jobs
Odd Jobs
Odd Jobs
Odd Jobs
Odd lobs
1881
Odd lobs
Odd Jobs
s
a.
'CO
-I-
North Manitou Island Population, 1910 (continued)
a
D
I
J.:
Name
Relationship Sex Age
Marital
Status
Years
Married
Place of Birth
Father's
Place of Birth
Mother's
Place of Birth
Year of
Immigration
Occupation
Kiddell, A.J.
Head
M
42
Married
2
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Kiddell, Ida
Wile
F
30
Married
2
Indiana
Indiana
Indiana
Kiddell, Thelma
Daughter
F
11
Michigan
Michigan
Indiana
Kiddell, Bernice
Daughter
F
6
Michigan
Michigan
Indiana
Kiddell, Francis
Daughter
F
5
Michigan
Michigan
Indiana
Kiddell, George
Son
M
18 mos
Michigan
Michigan
Indiana
Youmsus?, Edward
Head
M
33
Married
4
New York
New York
United States
Youmsus, Margery
Wire
F
26
Married
4
Michigan
New York
Canada (Irish)
Youmsus, Frank
Son
M
4
Michigan
New York
Michigan
Poaleski?, Joseph
Head
M
39
Married
16
German
German
German
Poaleski, Maiy
Wife
F
33
Married
16
Michigan
German
German
Poaleski, Frank
Son
M
15
Michigan
German
Michigan
Poaleski, Mary
Daughter
F
6
Michigan
German
Michigan
Poaleski, Alfred
Son
M
4
Michigan
German
Michigan
Poaleski, Agnes
Daughter
F
2
Michigan
German
Michigan
Brown, Manfred
Head
M
60
Married
2"
Ohio
New York
Indiana
Brown, Hattie
Wire
F
42
Married
Indiana
Pennsylvania
Ohio
Brown, Ada
Daughter
F
17
Single
Michigan
Ohio
Indiana
Bernard, George
Head
M
39
Married
20
Canada (Eng.)
Canada (Eng
) Canada (Scot.)
Bernard, Emma
Wife
F
36
Married
2()
Michigan
Michigan
New York
Bernard, William
So n
M
18
Single
Michigan
Canada (Eng
) Michigan
Bernard, Lillian
Daughter
F
16
Single
Michigan
Canada (Eng
) Michigan
Bernard, Louis
Son
M
11
Michigan
Canada (Eng
) Michigan
Bernard, Lena
Daughter
F
9
Michigan
Canada (Eng
) Michigan
Bernard, Lynn
Son
M
8
Michigan
Canada (Eng
) Michigan
Bernard, Genevive
Daughter
F
5
Michigan
Canada (Eng
) Michigan
Kimball, Frank
Head
M
43
Married
10
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
Kimball, Clara
Wire
F
42
Married
10
Michigan
New York
England
Wise, Edward
Son?
M
17
Single
Michigan
Ohio
Michigan
Wise, Nelson
Step Son
M
IS
Single
Michigan
Ohio
Michigan
Gibson, Louis
Head
M
43
Married
15
Michigan
Unknown
Unknown
Gibson, Margaret
Wire
F
38
Married
15
Michigan
Ireland
New York
Gibson, Ellen
Daughter
F
14
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Gibson, Ralph
Son
M
13
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Gibson, Earl
Son
M
11
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Gibson, Alice
Daughter
F
7
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Odd Jobs
18 _ 2
Shingle Mill
Saw Mill (Edger)
1S _ 1
Carpenter
Servant
Night Watchman (Steam Engine)
Dress Maker (At Home)
Odd Jobs
Housekeeper (At Home)
Stone Mason
Odd Jobs
Odd Jobs
Odd Jobs
North Manitou Island Population, 1910 (continued)
Name
Relationship Sex Age
Marital
Status
Years
Married
Place of Birth
Father's
Place of Birth
Mother's
Place of Birth
Year of
Immigration
Occupation
00
Henderson, Mirian
Head
M
36
Married
10
Michigan
United States
England
Henderson, Eva
Wire
F
25
Married
10
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Henderson, Earl
Son
M
2
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Henderson, Pearl
Daughter F
11 mos.
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Thiel?, Phillip
Head
M
25
Married
2
Michigan
Germany
Germany
Thiel, Jennie
Wife
F
21
Married
2
Michigan
New York
New York
Thiel, Donald
Son
M
18 mos.
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Johnson, Phillip
Head
M
39
Married
6
Michigan
German
France
Johnson, Nellie
Wife
F
31
Married
6
Michigan
New York
(Can.) German
LaCore,OttM.
Head
M
35
Married
4
Michigan
Michigan
New York
La Core, Ethel
Wife
F
24
Married
4
Michigan
Wisconsin
Michigan
La Core, Annette
Daughter F
2
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
La Core, Jeita? B.
Daughter F
6 mos.
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Jones, Susan
Servant
F
66
Widowed
New York
New York
Pennsylvania
Yehita?, Adam
Head
M
29
Married
Michigan
Scotland
Scotland
Yehita, Bertha
Wife
F
20
Married
Michigan
Germany
Michigan
Miser, Joseph
Head
M
44
Married
17
Michigan
Germany
England
Miser, Carrie
Wife
F
35
Married
17
Michigan
Germany
Michigan
Miser, Viola
Daughter F
15
Single
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Miser, Buelah
Daughter F
13
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Miser, Pearl
Daughter F
19 mos.
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Anderson, Clara
Servant
F
21
Single
Michigan
Noiway
Norway
Fletcher, Dick
Boarder
M
50
Single
New York
Vermont
Canada (Eng.)
Klin ski, Pete
Boarder
M
27
Single
Wisconsin
Germany
Germany
Gieldans, Edward
Boarder
M
35
Single
Noiway
Noiway
Noiway
Gorden, Miles
Boarder
M
24
Single
Virginia
Ireland
Ireland
Good, William
Boarder
M
31
Single
Michigan
Scotland
Scotland
Bnnkman, Morris
Boarder
M
20
Single
Michigan
Unknown
Michigan
Barthamew, Vern
Boarder
M
26
Single
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Mapes, Frank
Boarder
M
56
Married
26
New York
New York
Ohio
Brook, Ralph
Boarder
M
20
Single
Michigan
Ohio
Michigan
Robbot, John
Boarder
M
19
Single
Michigan
(Aust.) Polish
(Aust.) Polish
Aom?, Glen
Boarder
M
21
Single
Wisconsin
Michigan
Pennsylvania
Ask, Nels
Boarder
M
17
Single
Michigan
Noiway
Norway
Ledlow, Jim
Boarder
M
20
Single
Michigan
(Can.) German
England
Marsh, Porman?
Boarder
M
24
Single
Michigan
Vermont
Canada (Eng.)
Ram son, Walter
Head
M
23
Married
3
Michigan
Michigan
Unknown
Ram son, Nina
Wife
F
19
Married
3
Michigan
Michigan
Ohio
Ram son, Hiriam
Son
M
3
Single
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
10<i4
Odd Jobs
General Store (Proprietor)
Lumber Manufacture (Manager)
Doctor
Servant
Night Watchman (Sawmill)
Hotel Proprietor
Hotel Servant
Odd Jobs
Odd Jobs
Odd Jobs
Odd Jobs
Saw Mill (Fireman)
Odd Jobs
Saw Mill (Fireman)
Saw Mill
Odd Jobs
Odd Jobs
Odd Jobs
Odd Jobs
Hotel Barber
Lumber Camp (Blacksmith)
Odd Jobs
s
a.
'CO
North Manitou Island Population, 1910 (continued)
Name
Relationship Sex Age
Marital
Status
Years
Married
Place of Birth
Father's
Place of Birth
Mother's
Place of Birth
Year of
Immigration
Occupation
Codi, Jennie?
Head
M
33
Married
Michigan
Michigan
Canada (Fr.)
Codi, Florence
Wife
F
19
Married
Michigan
Canada (Eng)
Michigan
Yonkers?, John
Head
M
33
Married
7
Michigan
Holland
Holland
Yonkers, Gertrude
Wire
F
24
Married
"
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Yonkers, Durward
Son
M
5
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Elmwell?, Ernest
B ro ther-in-Law
M
19
Single
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Sergent, Scott
Head
M
26
Single
Kentucky
Kentucky
Kentucky
Lumber Camp Cook
Lumber Camp Assistant Cook
Lumber Camp Book Keeper
Table D-6
Federal Census of Population
North Manitou Island
1920 1
■CO
-J
Name
Relationship Sex
Age
Marital
Place of Birth
Father's P.O.B. /
Mother's P.O.B. /
Year of
Occupation
Status
Language
Language
Immigration
Maleski, John
Head
M
34
Married
Michigan
German Poland /Polish
German Poland/Polish
Farm Laborer
Maleski, Anna
Wife
F
22
Married
Michigan
German Poland /Polish
German Poland/Polish
Maleski, Gertrude
Daughter F
5
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Maleski, Raymond
Son
M
3
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Maleski, Ellis
Son
M
23 mos.
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Maleski, John
Son
M
3 mos.
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Stormer?, Peter Sr.
Head
M
39
Married
Michigan
Ge rmany/ G erm an
Germany/ German
Logging
Stormer, Helen E.
Wife
F
46
Married
Michigan
England /English
Michigan
Stormer, Joseph
Son
M
20
Single
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Lite Saver, U.S. Coast Guard
Stormer, Henry
Son
M
17
Single
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Farm Laborer
Stormer, Lewis
Son
M
16
Single
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Stormer, John
Son
M
15
Single
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Stormer, Harold
Son
M
9
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Stormer, Benjamin
Son
M
"
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Kelanske, Agnes
Boardei
F
24
Single
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Teacher, Rural School
Hall, Joseph
Boardei
M
2D
Single
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Wood Chopper, Lumber Camp
Cutler, William H.
Boardei
M
57
Widowed
Michigan
England /English
Michigan
Log Cutter, Lumber Camp
Oien, Ghoest?
Boardei
M
30
Single
Norway
Norway/Norwegian
N oiway / No rwegian
1908
Log Cutter, Lumber Camp
Tobin,Mike
Boardei
M
57
Single
Canada
Ireland/ Irish
Ireland/Irish
1866
Team Driver?
Ramsey, Joseph
Boardei
M
64
Widowed
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
Log Cutter, Lumber Camp
Ramsey, Robert
Boardei
M
61
Single
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
Log Cutter, Lumber Camp
Barr, Edward
Boardei
M
53
Widowed
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Log Cutter, Lumber Camp
Marsh, Joseph J.
Head
M
27
Married
Michigan
Michigan
Canada /English
Light Keeper, U.S. Lighthouse
Marsh, Gillian B.
Wife
F
24
Married
England
England /English
England/English
Unknown
Marsh, Joseph J. J.
Son
M
22 mos.
Michigan
Michigan
England/English
Hutzler, Ernest B.
Head
M
38
Married
Michigan
New York
Swe den / Swe di s h
Keeper, U.S. Lighthouse
Hutzler, Jella?
Wife
F
35
Married
Michigan
Michigan
C anada / Englis h
Hutzler, George
Son
M
14 mos.
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Furst, Ethel
Step Da
ughter F
14
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Furst, Norman
Step So
ti M
11
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Furst, Glen
Step So
n M
7
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Froats?, Ralph H.
Head
M
48
Married
Canada
Canada /English
C anada / Englis h
1884
Hired Farm Manager
Froats, Maiy
Wife
F
45
Married
Michigan
Holland/Dutch
Holland/Dutch
>
Froats, Louise
D aught
sr F
4
Michigan
Canada / Engli sh
Michigan
^3
Froats, Luella
D aught
sr F
4
Michigan
Canada /English
Michigan
B
1 Individual names are grouped according to household, and listed in the order that they appear on the manuscript schedules.
g° North Manitou Island Population, 1920
(continued)
a
Si.
Name
Relationship
Sex
Age
Marital
Status
Place of Birth
Father's P.O.B. /
Language
Mother's P.O.B. /
Language
Year of
Immigration
Occupation
Palmer, Nels
Head
M
46
Married
Sweden
Sweden/ Swedish
Denmark/Danish
1891
Keeper, U.S. Coast Guard
4
1
Palmer, Anna C.
Wife
F
38
Married
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Palmer, Gordon
Son
M
18
Single
Michigan
Sweden/Danish
Michigan
Palmer, Stanley
Son
M
15
Single
Michigan
Sweden/Danish
Michigan
^
Anderson, Abraham
Head
M
52
Married
Norway
Norway/Norwegian
Norway/ Norwegian
Lite Saver, U.S. Coast Guard
Anderson, Anna L.
Wife
F
47
Married
Michigan
Germany/ German
Germany/ Norwegian
6s
c:
Anderson, Alex? M.
Son
M
18
Single
Michigan
Norway/Norwegian
Michigan
■-:
Anderson, Ethel
Daughter
F
15
Single
Michigan
Norway/Norwegian
Michigan
Anderson, Margaret L.
Daughter
F
12
Michigan
Norway/Norwegian
Michigan
Dustin, Louis G.
Head
M
57
Married
Illinois
Illinois
Illinois
Lite Saver, U.S. Coast Guard
Dustin, Anna H.
Wife
F
47
Married
Michigan
Germany/ Germ an
Germany/ German
Dustin, George F.
Son
M
18
Single
Michigan
Illinois
Michigan
Dustin, Fredrick H.
Son
M
16
Single
Michigan
Illinois
Michigan
Hoe ft, Louis
Nephew
M
14
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Halseth, Hans P.
Head
M
52
Married
Norway
Norway/Norwegian
Norway/ Norwegian
1888
Lite Saver, U.S. Coast Guard
Halseth,IdaN.
Wife
F
49
Married
Norway
Swede n / Swe dis h
Norway/ Norwegian
unknown
Halseth, Anna M.
Half-sister
F
15
Single
Michigan
Norway/Norwegian
Norway/ Norwegian
Nelson, Aeden
Nephew
M
11
Michigan
Norway/Norwegian
Norway/ Norwegian
Basch, John A.
Head
M
35
Married
Michigan
Germany/ German
Germany/ German
Lite Saver, U.S. Coast Guard
Basch, Bertha R.
Wife
F
25
Married
Michigan
Swede n / Swe dis h
Norway/ Norwegian
Basch, Sherwood J.
Son
M
2
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Laird, Thomas B.
Head
M
41
Married
Michigan
I re land /English
Michigan
Lite Saver, U.S. Coast Guard
Laird, Jessie Belle
Wife
F
40
Married
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Laird, William J.
Son
M
18
Single
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Lite Saver, U.S. Coast Guard
Laird, Alice
Daughter
F
15
Single
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Laird, Raymond
Son
M
12
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Laird, Lottie
Daughter
F
5
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Laird, Robert
Son
M
2
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Mosier, Louis N.
Head
M
19
Married
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Life Saver, U.S. Coast Guard
Mosier, Carrie F.
Wife
F
21
Married
Michigan
Michigan
Norway/ Norwegian
Mosier, Bernice J.
Daughter
F
1 mo.
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Feilen, Nicholas
Head
M
67
Single
Illinois
Germany/ German
Germany/ German
House Carpenter
Pastschow, John
Head
M
63
Single
Denmark
Germany/ German
Germany/ German
1878
Fisherman
Olson, Charles
Head
M
56
Married
Norway
Norway/Norwegian
Norway/ Norwegian
1879
Steamboat Seaman
Olson, Sigrid
Wife
F
53
Married
Norway
Norway/Norwegian
Norway/ Norwegian
1885
Olson, Henry M.
Son
M
26
Single
New York
Norway/ Norwegian
Norway/ Norwegian
Lite Saver, U.S. Coast Guard
Olson, John B.
Son
M
23
Single
Wisconsin
Norway/Norwegian
Norway/ Norwegian
Farm Laborer
Olson, Sarah K.
Daughter
F
21
Single
Wisconsin
Norway/Norwegian
Norway/ Norwegian
Public School Teacher
Olson, Carrie A.
Daughter
F
17
Single
Wisconsin
Norway/Norwegian
Norway/ Norwegian
Olson, Arthur
Son
M
15
Single
Wisconsin
Norway/Norwegian
Norway/ Norwegian
North Manitou Island Population, 1920 (continued)
Name
Relationship
Sex
Age
Marital
Status
Place of Birth
Father's P.O.B. /
Language
Mother's P.O.B. /
Language
Year of
Immigration
Occupation
Stormer, Peter Jr.
Head
M
27
Married
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Lumber Mill Laborer
Stormer, Maud H.
Wife
F
25
Married
Michigan
Norway/Norwegian
N orway / No rwegian
Anderson, John Q
Head
M
59
Married
Norway
Norway/Norwegian
N orway / No rwegian
1879
Farm Laborer
Anderson, Eldri
Wife
F
45
Married
Norway
Norway/Norwegian
N orway / No rwegian
1889
Anderson, Martin
Son
M
23
Single
Michigan
Norway/Norwegian
N orway / No rwegian
Life Saver, U.S. Coast Guard
Anderson, George H.
Son
M
21
Single
Michigan
Norway/Norwegian
N orway / No rwegian
Life Saver, U.S. Coast Guard
Anderson, Eleanor J.
Daughter
F
18
Single
Michigan
Norway/Norwegian
Norway/ No rwegian
Servant, Private Family
Anderson, Arthur L.
Son
M
16
Single
Michigan
Norway/Norwegian
Norway/ No rwegian
Hired Farm Laborer
Anderson, Hans J.
Son
M
11
Michigan
Norway/Norwegian
N orway / No rwegian
Anderson, Gertrude D.
Daughter
F
in
Michigan
Norway/Norwegian
N orway / No rwegian
Anderson, Gladys C.
Daughter
F
8
Michigan
Norway/Norwegian
N orway / No rwegian
Anderson, Margret A.
Daughter
F
5
Michigan
Norway/Norwegian
N orway / No rwegian
Anderson, Mable I.
Daughter
F
3
Michigan
Norway/Norwegian
N orway / No rwegian
Weaver, Harrison
Head
M
64
Married
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Hired Fami Manager
Weaver, Mary jane
Wife
F
59
Married
England
England/English
England/English
1879
Postmistress, U.S. Post Office
Grosvenor, George T.
Head
M
26
Married
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Mail Carrier, U.S. Mail Service
Grosvenor, Delia B.
Wife
F
24
Married
Michigan
Michigan
Norway/ No rwegian
Grosvenor, Shirley M.
Daughter
F
3 mos.
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Maleski, Paul
Head
M
36
Married
Michigan
German Poland
German Poland/Polish
Farm Laborer
Maleski, Josephine
Wife
F
23
Married
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Maleski, Helen
Daughter
F
4
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Maleski, Chester
Son
M
2
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Maleski, Adam
Father
M
69
Married
German Poland
German Poland
German Poland/Polish
1868
Maleski, Mary
Mother
F
69
Married
German Poland
German Poland
German Poland/Polish
1872
'CO
s
a.
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Appendix E
Federal Census of Agriculture
North Manitou Island, 1860-1870
390
Table E-l
Federal Census of Agriculture
North Manitou Island
1860
Name
Improved
Land (acres)
Unimproved
Land (acres)
Value of Farm
Horses
Asses
and Mules
Milch Cows
Working Oxen
Other Catde
Sheep
Swine
Bedford, Thomas
Campbell, Carson
Pickard, Nicholas
60
60
200
140
10
200
500
600
8000
4
8
6
6
8
9
2
24
7
8
20
40
12
3
5
Value of
Livestock
Wheat (bu.)
Rye (bu.)
Corn (bu.)
Oats (bu.)
Wool (lbs.)
Potatoes (bu.)
Butter (lbs.)
Value of
Animals
Slaughtered
Bedford, Thomas
Campbell, Carson
Pickard, Nicholas
450
800
1661
200
-
200
80
60
1800
60
30
100
800
160
300
300
80
20
So
SO
s
a.
Table E-2
Federal Census of Agriculture
North Manitou Island
1870
Na
Improved
Land (acres)
Woodland
(acres)
Other
Unimproved (acres)
Value of Farm Value of Farm Wages Paid
Implements
He
Mules
and Asses
o
to
Boyle, Edward
Brown, John
Meanly, Owen
Mcauly, Owen jr.
Boyle, Daniel
Hardwick, Henty
Campbell, Orson
McDonough, Lesta
Gallagher, Morne
Martin, Jamie
Sullivan, John
Kilty, Patnc
Donahue, Patnc
Boyle, Patnc
Roddy, Andrew
Brown, John
Gollagher, Cornelme
Gollagher, Francie
Boyle, Hugh
O' Donnel, Janne
Gillespie, John
Conly, Philip
Butter, William
Bonar, John
Gallagher, Daniel
O' Donnel, Barney
Donahue, Timothy
O' Cafterty, Michael
Gallagher, Jamie
Boyle, Joseph
Corbert, John
Gallagher, Patnc
O' Donnel, Charlie
Boyle, John
Buchan, Robert
O' Donnel, John
Gollagher, Philip
Warner, Joseph
Burke, Michael
Boyle, Michael
40
20
18
15
25
20
30
20
30
40
35
28
25
30
25
40
20
20
35
20
40
18
30
25
20
15
20
20
15
18
15
15
20
12
20
30
25
20
20
30
4D
40
22
145
135
140
130
140
130
120
125
132
135
130
135
120
140
140
125
140
120
142
130
135
140
145
140
140
145
142
145
145
140
148
140
130
135
140
140
130
160
200
2(io
200
300
300
500
300
400
400
400
400
350
300
400
80o
400
400
650
300
400
300
400
500
400
300
300
300
200
250
200
200
250
200
2oo
400
350
300
300
400
25
40
3d
25
a
B
PL
North Manitou Island Agriculture, 1870 (continued)
Name
Improved
Woodland
Land (acres) (acres)
Other
Unimproved (acres)
Value of Farm
Implements
Value of Farm Wages Paid
Horses
Mules
and Asses
Gallagher, Michael
15
65
Gallagher, Domimck
20
6D
Burdick, Putnam
30
8
Sanith, William
20
60
Armstrong, Thomas
in
150
Sheridan, Aaron
6
74
Evane, Alfred
24
136
Price, Thomas
16
144
Beck, Gustatt
12
148
Haas, George
15
145
Hustler, George
40
280
Robinson, Hugh
300
100
Pickard, Nickolas
2(H)
120
Roe, Robert
"5
155
1370
42c
2)0
-
200
-
1000
"5
500
"5
300
-
200
-
600
-
800
-
600
-
500
50
600
55
1500
-
3000
200
2000
150
200
300
500
Milch Cows Working Oxen Sheep
Swine
Value of
All Livestock
Spring
Wheat (bushels)
Rye (bushels)
Corn (bushels)
o
Boyle, Edward
Brown, John
3
2
Meanly, Owen
Mcauly, Owen Jr.
Boyle, Daniel
Hardwick, Henry
Campbell, Orson
McDonough, Lesta
1
2
2
1
3
2
Gallagher, Morrie
3
Martin, Jamie
3
Sullivan, John
2
Kilty, Patric
Donahue, Patric
3
2
Boyle, Patric
Roddy, Andrew
Brown, John
2
2
3
Gollagher, Cornelme
2
Gollagher, Francie
3
Boyle, Hugh
O' Donnel, Jamie
3
1
Gillespie, John
Conly, Philip
Butter, William
2
2
1
Bonar, John
4
Gallagher, Daniel
2
O' Donnel, Barney
1
Donahue, Timothy
2
10
10
10
5
10
10
120
125
65
100
80
100
475
135
175
225
325
265
15m
225
250
175
240
195
315
200
295
125
200
675
175
125
135
10
2)
2m
30
s
a.
o
4-
North Manitou Island Agriculture, 1870 (continued)
Name
Milch Cows
Working Oxen Sheep
Swine
Value of
Spring
Rye (bushels)
Corn (bushels)
All Livestock
Wheat (bushels)
O' Cafferty, Michael
3
— —
3
200
20
—
—
Gallagher, lamie
2
— 5
2
150
—
—
—
Boyle, Joseph
1
— —
1
110
—
—
—
Corbert, John
1
— —
2
75
—
—
—
Gallagher, Patnc
2
— —
1
130
—
—
—
O' Donnel, Charlie
1
— —
2
150
—
—
—
Boyle, John
1
— —
—
75
—
—
—
Buchan, Robert
1
— —
3
8(i
—
—
—
O' Donnel, lohn
2
2 —
—
225
—
—
—
Gollagher, Philip
1
— —
—
175
—
—
—
Warner, loseph
1
2 —
—
175
—
—
—
Burke, Michael
1
2 —
—
150
—
—
—
Boyle, Michael
2
— —
1
19(1
—
—
—
Gallagher, Michael
1
— —
3
125
—
—
—
Gallagher, Dommick
2
— —
1
195
—
—
—
Burdick, Putnam
2
2 —
—
225
—
ion
—
Sanith, William
— —
—
WO
—
—
—
Armstrong, Thomas
2
— —
4
210
—
—
—
Sheridan, Aaron
3
— —
3
350
—
—
ioo
Evane, Alfred
3
2 —
5
310
25
—
150
Price, Thomas
2
2 —
5
305
—
25
25
Beck, Gustaft
4
— —
2
340
18
26
25
Haas, George
4
2 —
6
610
6
60
20
Hustler, George
10
4 —
—
1045
15
150
—
Robinson, Hugh
4
2 —
"
1060
—
150
—
Pickard, Nickolas
3
— —
6
1230
—
125
—
Roe, Robert
6
6 —
in
2300
—
—
—
Oats
(bu.)
Barley (bu.) Potatoes
(bu.)
Butter (lbs.)
Hay (tons)
Forest Products
Value of
Animals Slaughtered
Total Value of All
Farm Products
Boyle, Edward
35
100
125
1
50
25
224
Brown, John
20
75
100
2
60
13
192
Mcauly, Owen
30
125
50
1
40
20
179
Mcauly, Owen Jr.
80
115
2
-
25
137
Boyle, Daniel
40
100
125
2
-
30
207
Hardwick, Henry
25
90
70
1
-
15
164
Campbell, Orson
125
150
150
4
-
40
375
McDonough, Lesta
40
100
125
2
-
25
194
Gallagher, Morne
75
125
175
3
-
38
287
Martin, Jamie
100
175
19ll
3
-
30
32"
Sullivan, John
60
150
125
2
-
40
276
Kilty, Patnc
50
80
16(i
4
-
48
286
Donahue, Patnc
50
60
125
2
-
20
181
D
I
A 1
A:
North Manitou Island Agriculture, 1870 (continued)
Name
Oats (bu.)
Barley (bu.)
Potatoes (bu.)
Butter (lbs.)
Hay (tons)
150
2
140
1
175
1
125
3
175
1
190
1
~5
2
125
140
4
50
1
200
1
125
1
60
2
100
1
175
1
150
70
1
50
1
100
2
80
3
50
4
70
3
125
2
50
1
50
1
40
1
100
3
60
1
125
2
200
10
150
_
200
-
120
3
250
2
300
1
150
-
150
6
300
90
225
50
500
30
Forest Products
Value of
Total Value of All
Animals Slaughtered
Farm Products
13
270
18
214
25
247
15
269
13
288
48
325
25
154
40
246
13
244
15
81
25
251
13
137
-
123
18
139
-
171
13
106
-
105
10
91
-
210
-
162
25
105
-
200
30
267
-
173
12
130
-
94
-
251
25
127
13
155
90
425
30
155
25
147
65
315
138
645
15
322
44
335
195
566
525
1139
-
3250
100
1445
450
5880
Boyle, Patric
5(i
Roddy, Andrew
40
Brown, John
25
Gollagher, Corneline
Gollagher, Francie
40
Boyle, Hugh
O' Donnel, Jamie
50
Gillespie, John
Conly, Philip
30
Butter, William
Bonar, John
50
Gallagher, Daniel
40
O' Donnel, Barney
Donahue, Timothy
60
O' Catferty, Michael
55
Gallagher, Jamie
30
Boyle, Joseph
25
Corbert, Tohn
Gallagher, Patric
5d
O' Donnel, Charlie
Boyle, John
45
Buchan, Robert
30
O' Donnel, John
60
Gollagher, Philip
48
Warner, Joseph
Burke, Michael
56
Boyle, Michael
30
Gallagher, Michael
40
Gallagher, Dominick
35
Burdick, Putnam
Sanith, William
150
Armstrong, Thomas
Sheridan, Aaron
Evane, Alfred
8
Price, Thomas
Beck, Gu staff
10
Haas, George
15
Hustler, George
in
Robmson, Hugh
Pickard, Nickolas
200
Roe, Robert
400
100
60
80
125
1(10
50
75
80
140
70
40
80
130
60
1(10
5u
80
60
1(10
125
75
60
40
85
150
50
1(10
75
60
300
5n
KK)
200
400
200
loo
300
300
250
200
1000
50
75
40
60
100
"5
loo
Si)
6')
50
60
40
3')
30
50
45
100
150
1200
4000
o
s
a.
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Appendix F
Census of Michigan, 1894
Tenure, area and Value of Farms, Number of Rods of
Ditches, Cost of Fertilizers and Labor, and Value of
Farm Products, North & South Manitou Islands
Farms Classified According to Tenure.
Cultivated by Owners: 18
Rented for money rental: 1
Rented for shares of products: 1
Total: 20
Land in Farms (acres).
Improved.
Tilled, including fallow and grass in rotation (whedier pasture or meadow): 713
Permanent meadows, permanent pastures, orchards, vineyards, nurseries
and market gardens: 81
Unimproved.
Woodland and forest: 1,794
Otiier improved: 2,485
Total: 5,073'
[Average farm size: 253.65 acres; Average for Manitou County: 139.51]
Ditches.
Open: —
Tie: —
Farm Valuations (dollars).
Farms, including land, fences arid buildings: 51,300
Farming implements and machinery: 2,200
Live stock: 7,775
Cost of Fertilizers purchased in year ending June 1, 1894: —
Labor (dollar values).
Amount paid for wages for outdoor farm labor during 1893, including
value of board: 1,390
Amount paid for wages for indoor farm and dairy labor during 1893,
i i- i ri j -mn 'Note average farm size for Nordi Manitou
mcludmg value of board: 1U0 to
Island: 253.5 acres; average farm size for
Estimated value of all farm productions of 1893 (sold, consumed, or on hand): .. 8,320 Manitou County: 139.51 acres.
396
Appendices
Appendix G
Farmstead Characteristics of North Manitou Island's
Homestead Claimants
397
Table G-l
Farmstead Characteristics of Homestead Claimants
North Manitou Island
o
'CO
Claimant
Pertinent Dates
(a) filing
(b) initial settlement;
(c) patent acquiied
Location of
Claim
Total Land
Area (acres)
Total Land Area
Cleared (acies)
Dwelling Materials
and Features
(constmctioii)
Lais Christian Alstioin
(a) 12/19/1884
(b) 04/01/1885
(c) 10/03/1890
El/2, SW1/4&W1/2,
SE1/4, Sec. 21,
T31N.R14W
160
6
log
Andiew Anderson
(a) 09/06/1875
(b) 03/01/1876
(c) 10/10/1882
Lot 3, Sec. 20;SWl/3,
NW1/4 & Wl/2, SW1/4,
Sec. 21; Lot 1, Sec. 28,
T31N,R14W
159.40
10, 5 undei cultivation
log
John A. Aiideisou
(a) 04/22/1890
(b) 05/06/1890
(c) 05/29/1896
Wl/2, NW1/4; Wl/2,
SW1/4, Sec. 22,
T31N, R14W
160
10
frame
Fiedric M. Beiiliaui
(a) 06/04/1881
(b) 12/1881
(c) 06/06/1890
Nl/2, NW1/4; SE1/4,
NW1/4 & NE1/4, SW1/4,
Sec. 33, T32N, R14W
160
12
lumber
Alvai L. Boumique
(a) 07/03/1903
(b) 10/25/1903
(c) 04/30/1909
El/2, NW1/4; NE1/4,
SWl/4&Lot#5, Sec. 22,
T31N, R14W
152.20
33
two houses
Nicholas Feilen
(a) 08/28/1903
(b) 02/15/1904
(c) 09/22/1909
(filed on 10/08/1909)
El/2, SE1/4, Sec. 21;
Lot 1, Sec. 27; Lot 4,
Sec. 28, T31N, R14W
140.20
5 undei cultivation
liame
JolmMaleske [sic]
(a) 05/16/1912
(b) 06/10/1912
(c) 05/18/1918
SW1/4, SE1/4 & Lot 1,
Sec. 21, T32N, R14W
96.36
13
fiame
Petei Hansen
(a) 10/04/1886
(b) 03/29/1887
(c) 05/28/1895
El/2, NW1/4, Sec. 21,
T31N, R14W
80
8
log
a
B
PL
Farmstead Characteristics of Homestead Claimants, North Manitou Island (continued)
Claimant
Pertinent Dates
(a) filing;
(b) initial settlement;
(c) patent acquired
Location of
Claim
Total Land
Area (acres)
Total Land Area
Cleared (acres)
Dwelling Materials
and Features
(construction)
Mary Olson Swan
Gustaf Olson Swan
(deceased)
(a) 10/22/1878
(b) 04/1879
(c) 04/01/1886
NE1/4, Sec. 21,
T31N,R14W
160
6
board
o
o
Claimant
Dwelling Size
(dimensions,
architectural features)
Additional
Structures
Crops Grown
Livestock
Lais Christian Alstrom
14' X 21'
frame barn, 20' x 30'
potatoes, corn, rye, oats,
turnips
4 cows, 2 calves, 2 horses,
2 pigs, 2 sheep
Andrew Anderson
17' x 24'
frame barn, 20' x 37'
—
—
John A. Andeison
—
frame bam
—
—
Fredric M. Benham
18' x 18' 1 window, 1 door;
14' x 24' 5 windows,
2 doors, 1-1/2 story
12 acres fenced
500 fruit trees and
vines potatoes hay
2 horses 3 heifers at
Bay Spring
Alvai L. Boumique
—
barn, implement shed,
chicken coop, laundry,
ice house
fruit trees
—
Nicholas Feilen
1-1/2 story, 12' x 21',
2 doors, 7 windows
stable on posts 12' x 20',
well, pig pen, chicken
house, 5 acres fenced
oats, potatoes, corn, rye,
10 apple trees
—
JolmMaleske [sic]
1-1/2 story, 3 rooms
barn frame 20' x 30' on
posts, hen house, "wire fence
beans, hay, com, potatoes
—
Peter Hansen
14' x 16'
frame barn 16' x 16', well,
fences
—
—
Mary Olson Swan
Gustaf Olson Swan
(deceased)
16' x 32',
6 windows, 4 doors
board barn 20' x 34'
—
—
s
Source: Compiled from homestead documentation on file at the National Archives and Record Service, Washington, D.C.
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Appendix H
Manitou Island Association Pecuniary Data,
1925-1929
400
Appendices
Table H-l Manitou Island Association Income
Directly
Attributable to
Sales of Commodities and Services, 1925-1929.
MIA Account
1925
1926
1927
1928
1929
Total (s)
Farm 1
2069.83
5681.35
581.52
1082.15
464.90
9879.75
Daily
546.38
283.25
234.85
361.13
359.82
1785.43
Hog
84.24
84.24
Cherry Orchard
1773.46
2237.69
2918.08
1611.49
3673.64
12214.36
Apple Orchard
115.38
654.35
643.97
118.35
20.00
1552.05
Sugar Bush 2
233.01
195.42
15.00
3.00
446.43
Fish 3
1072.97
1421.97
176.53
2671.47
Wood
961.95
1385.57
1033.50
891.18
978.50
5250.70
Ice 4
84.60
1.50
64.00
111.30
75.30
336.70
Road
529. 60 5
529.60
Tow Boat
45.00
45.00
TOTAL ($)
6986.82
11861.10
5652.45
4190.6
6104.76
34795.73
Source: Manitou Island Association Farm Account Book, September. 1924 - December 1929.
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Empire, Michigan.
Table H-2 Manitou Island Association Annual
Expenditures for Labor,
1925-1929.
MIA Account
1925
1926
1927
1928
1929 6
Total ($)
Farm
5586.74
5773.75
5799.69
5901.89
6398.25
29460.32
Cherry Orchard
392.11
1042.38
1556.99
2294.74
1772.88
7059.10
Apple Orchard
1439.36
1550.85
700.70
1793.25
1702.42
7186.58
Orchards
81.00
171.00
252.00
Sugar Bush
175.20
219.90
24.00
12.25
431.35
Fish
82.00
537.35
7.20
626.55
Wood
592.00
855.90
897.82
416.90
599.71
3362.33
Ice
207.40
168.20
136.80
189.30
701.70
ftM/ShirigleMill
2191.88
600.90
9.00
2801.78
Road
7.50
312.75
141.20
41.50
21.00
523.95
Dock
1199.20
75.00
1044.40
2318.60
Barn
1190.65
1190.65
Tow Boat
20.70
20.70
Store
18.00
303.60
22.00
343.60
TOTAL ($)
8313.61
10500.28
13047.48
12646.63
11771.21
56279.21
Source: Manitou Island Association Farm Account Book, September 1924 - December 1929.
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Empire, Michigan.
1 Farm income came from die sale of catde,
beef, pork and potatoes, and rental of
pasture land, farm labor and draft animals.
2 There was no sugar bush account in 1927.
3 There was no fish account in 1928 and
1929.
4 No ice account in 1925.
This is referred to as "money back;"
perhaps reimbursement from the county?
6 Payroll data for the month of November,
1929, are missing.
401
4-
o
to
Table H-3
Manitou Island Association
Monthly Expenditures for Labor, 1925-1929.
I
MIA Account
Month
Jan.
Feb.
Mar.
Apr.
May
Jun.
Jul.
Aug.
Sept.
Oct.
Nov. 7
Dec.
Total
Farm
1957.16
2144.31
1883.02
2312.12
2574.29
2644.67
2997.89
3849.66
2289.67
2871.24
1888.42
2047.87
29460.32
Clieny Orchard
45.00
190.26
526.08
612.03
666.06
395.00
4356.95
112.62
155.10
7059.10
Apple Orchard
45.00
97.50
166.24
1212.98
743.16
469.90
837.79
1609.88
1673.28
225.30
105.55
7186.58
Orchard 8
12.00
102.00
138.00
252.00
Sugai Bush 9
36.30
216.55
178.50
431.35
Fish 10
11.20
43.65
3.00
10.50
558.20
626.55
Wood
262.45
600.85
640.90
262.80
19.50
22.00
37.25
47.40
91.17
294.90
1083.11
3362.33
Ice 11
396.60
247.20
57.90
701.70
Mill 12
61.20
228.00
335.40
383.60
387.50
472.38
183.50
379.50
347.70
23.00
2801.78
Road
21.00
7.50
20.50
302.85
125.10
26.00
21.00
523.95
Dock 13
75.00
143.00
345.10
103.30
723.80
667.10
186.30
75.00
2318.60
Bam 14
64.80
244.00
662.65
114.00
69.20
36.00
1190.65
Tow Boat
20.70
20.70
Store
83.70
22.00
67.50
116.40
36.00
18.00
343.60
Source: Manitou Island Association Farm Account Book, September 1924 - December 1929. Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Enipiie, Michigan.
7 Payroll data for the month of November, 1929, are missing
s A general "orchard" account used during die winter and early
springs seasons of 1927 and 1928 only.
9 There was no sugar bush account in 1927.
10 There was no fish account in 1928 and 1929.
11 No ice account in 1925.
12 No mill account in 1925 and 1926. Most of die wages charged
to the mill account acrued during 1927, when die mill appears to
have been dile only during die months of March and December.
13 No dock account in 1925 or 1926.
14 This is a payroll item during 1928 only.
Appendices
Table H-4
Persons Listed in the Manitou Island Association's Monthly
Payrolls, 1925-1929.
Primary Work Crew 1925
1926
1927
1928
1929
Anderson, Albert
• • •
Anderson, Henry
o
o
Anderson, John
• •
o
Anderson, Martin
o
Craker, Clifford
► 4)
Firestone, Eli
> 4)
Firestone, Melvin
4)
Flees, Joseph
Grosvenor, Tracy
• •
• 4
» 4)
Kinnucan, John L., Sr.
• •
• 4
» 4)
Leo, Win.
o
Maleski, John
• o
• 4
Miller, Archie
4)
Nelson, Al den
Oien, Peter
• o
• 4
» 4)
Smith, Jessie
• •
• 4
» •
Members of 1928 bain building crew.
Itinerant and 15
Seasonal Workers
25 1<
)26 19
27 19
28 19
29
Anderson, Abraham '
> 4
» «
t
Anderson, Albert
4
>
Anderson, Alfred
4
>
Anderson, Arthur '
> 4
»
Anderson, Hans '
>
Anderson, Henry '
>
Anderson, Gladys
4
>
Anderson, Geo.
t
>
Anderson, Martin '
>
Anderson, Mrs. Abe '
>
Anderson, Mrs. Heiuy
4
>
Anderson, Mrs. Jolm
4
>
4
t
Anderson, Mrs. Martin '
> 4
»
Andrews, Mitchel
4
1
Basch, Sherwood
4
1
Bromwell, Mrs.
4
1
Busch, Charlie '
>
Cadson, Clarence
t
>
Cadson, Gertmde
4
>
Cooper, Jack
4
1
Couturier, Leon
t
>
Craker, Julia
4
> 4
•
Dembrach, Genevieve
t
>
Dennis, Glory
4
> «
> 4
t
Duane, H "
4
>
403
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Persons Listed in the Manitou Island Association's Monthly Payrolls, 1925-1929
(continued)
Itinerant and V.
Seasonal Workers
25 1<
•26 19
27 19
28 19
29
Duane, Ted*
4
»
Firestone, Gertrude
4
>
Firestone, Melvin
4
>
4
t
Fisher, Edwin
4
»
Flees, Mr. James
4
>
Flees, Joe
4
»
Flees, Joseph, Jr.
4
»
Flees, Mrs. (?)
4
»
Francie, Ed
4
»
Furst, Burton
4
» 4
Furst, Leslie
4
> 4
Furst, Norman <
>
Garthe, Carl
Garthe, Carlton
Gingaway, Nicholas
4
»
Grant, Oscar
> 4
> 4
»
Haeft, Martin
4
> 4
Halm, John <
>
Halseth, Anna
4
> 4
> 4
> 4
»
Halsted, Louis
4
> 4
> 4
> 4
»
Halsted, Oscar
Kelenske, Mrs. Peter
4
>
King, John*
4
»
Kingbird, Tom
4
t
Kitmucan, Delia
4
t
Kiimucan, Donald
4
> 4
> 4
» 4
»
Kitmucan, Jolm L., Jr.
4
► 4
I 4
» 4
t
Kitmucan, Marguerite
4
»
4
t
Kitmucan, Rex
4
» 4
t
Knopp, Herman
4
I
Kurtzhals, Fred
4
I 4
»
Leabo, Lewis
4
>
Leo, Will
4
» 4
t
Leois, Hazel
4
t
Looze, Jolm
4
>
Maleski, Chester
4
t
Maleski, Helen
4
» 4
»
Maleski, Paul
4
» 4
»
Maleski, Raymond
4
»
Maleski, Mrs. (?)
4
t
Maleski, Mrs. Jolm
4
> 4
>
Maleski, Mrs. Paul
4
»
Merritt, Giles 4
► 4
»
Members of 1928 bam building ciew.
404
Appendices
Persons Listed in the Manitou Island Association's Monthly Payrolls, 1925-1929
(continued)
members of 1928 barn building crew
Itinerant and IS
Seasonal Workers
25 1'
)26 19
27 19
28 19
29
Millerjoe
4
►
Mosiei, Louis <
»
«
» 4
>
Mosier, Mis. L[ouis]?
«
>
Nanego, Wni.
4
»
Nelson, Alden <
» «
> «
>
Nelson, Melvin
4
»
Oien, Cluest (?) 4
» «
>
Oien, Mis. Petei
i
>
Olsen, Sarah
i
>
Olson, Mrs. (?)
i
>
Paetschow, Andiew
4
»
Paukett, Tlieodore <
»
Pedittjolui
4
»
Pelby, Dornian (?)
4
»
Persik, Martha
4
►
Perrisli, Mardia
«
>
Pesliaba, Edw.
4
»
Peshaby, Ben
4
»
Petadows (?), Joe
4
»
Poliolski, Mike*
4
»
Polwadin, Joe
4
»
Pop a, Paul*
4
»
Popa, Steve*
4
»
Rotta, Mike
«
»
Secore, Joe
4
»
Shauger, Geo.
«
»
Sliauger, Kadierine
i
»
Shauger, Mrs. (?)
i
»
Sliefiern, Clemnience
4
»
Shocko, Andrew
4
»
Skeba, Steve *
» 4
>
Simon, Frank
Smidi, David
Smith, Ella
Smith, James
Smith, John
Smith, Marvin
Smith, Mr
Smidi, Mrs. C. (?)
«
>
Smidi, Mrs. Jessie
i
>
4
t
Stanislauski, Barney"
4
»
Stiolim, Wm.
«
►
Washegisek (?), Joe
4
»
405
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Persons Listed in the Manitou Island Association's Monthly Payrolls, 1925-1929
(continued)
Itinerant and
Seasonal Workers
1925
1926
1927
1928
1929
Waskigisk, David
Weathers, M.*
Wojiuak, Rog
Wojniak, Robert
Yonet, Sila
Source: Manitou Island Association Farm Account Book, September 1924 - December 1929.
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeskore, Empke, Mickigan.
* Members of 1928 barn building crew.
Table H-5
Manitou Island Association Cherry Harvest Crews, 1927-1929 15
Name
1927
1928
1929
1920 Census Data
Alford, Jokn
4
>
Anderson, Arthur
4
►
Anderson, Efkel
4
»
Anderson, Gertrude [D]
4
►
10, daugkter of Jokn and Eldri Anderson
Anderson, Gladys [C]
4
> 4
> 4
>
Anderson, Mable
4
> 4
► 4
►
Anderson, Martin
4
1 23, son of Jokn and Eldri Anderson, kfesaver, U.S. Coast Guard
Anderson, Marguerite
4
> 4
»
Anderson, Mrs. Abr. [Anna k.]
4
> 4
t
47, no occupation
Anderson, Mrs. Albert
4
> 4
t
Anderson, Mrs. Geo.
4
►
Anderson, Mrs. Henry
4
►
Anderson, Mrs. John [Eldri]
4
►
45, no occupation
Bellanger, Rosella
4
»
Bromwell, Mrs.
4
»
Budding, Mrs.
4
►
Budkiig, E.
4
»
Bukiel, Anna
4
»
Conk, C. W
4
►
Craker, Carrie
4
» 4
►
Craker,Juka
4
» 4
►
Craker, Mrs.
4
» 4
►
Dembrock, Genevieve
4
►
4
►
Dermis, Marie
4
> 4
»
Eblacker, Erma
4
»
Fkestone, Melvin
4
> 4
► 4
►
Fkestone, Mrs.
4
»
Flees, Mrs. J.
4
I
1 For 1927-1929, the MIA account book hsts ckerry pickers and otker seasonal employees separately.
406
Appendices
Manitoii Island Association Cherry harvest Crews, 1927-1929
(continued)
Name 1927 1928 1929 1920 Census Data
Fuist, Haiold 4
►
Fuist, Leslie I
►
Gaith, Mrs.
4
»
Gilbert, Mis. M
4
»
Giant, Mis. O.
4
►
Giant, Oscai
4
»
Giosvenoi, Mis. T. <
»
Giosvenoi, Shidey [M.}
4
1 3 mos., dauglitei of Geoige and Delia
Guldbeig, Mis.
4
»
Halsedi, Anna <
» 4
» 4
' 15, half sistei of Hans, no occupation
Halsted, Geitmde
4
»
Heiniel, Chestei <
»
Jolmson, Leali
4
►
Kelenski, Donna
4
» 4
►
Kelenski, Doiothy
4
1 [Ivelenske], 24, boaidei with Petei Stoimei, Si.
Kelenski, Mis.
4
►
Kelenski, Peter
4
»
Kinnucan, Delia <
4
►
Kiimucan, Donald i
Kiimucaii, John,Ji. <
» 4
»
Kinnucan, Rex <
» 4
» 4
►
Kinnucan, Veia <
» 4
» 4
►
Kunold, Afaitha
4
►
Leo, Beinie
4
» 4
>
Leo, Marcello
4
» 4
1
Long, Maigaiet
4
►
Long, Win.
4
»
M (?), Maigaiet 4
»
Maleski, Alice
4
»
Maleski, Cliestei <
» 4
» 4
' 2, son of Paul and Josephine
Maleski, Geitiud[e] 4
» 4
»
5, dauglitei of John and Anna
Maleski, Helen 4
» 4
» 4
' 4, dauglitei of Paul and Josephine
Maleski, Jolm
4
»
34, faun laboi
Maleski, Paul 4
»
4
' 36, faun laboi
Alaleski, Raymond *
» 4
»
3, sou of John and Anna
McCaidiy, Agnes
4
»
McMauon, J. L. <
►
Millei, Aicliie
4
►
Mosiei, Beinie
4
1 [Beinice}, 1 mo., dauglitei of Louis and Canie Mosiei
Mosiei, Maiy Louise
4
►
Mosiei, Mis. L. 4
» 4
»
[Caiiie E], 21, no occupation
Nelson, Alden <
»
11, nephew of Hans Halseth
Nelson, Melvin
4
» 4
>
Nelson, Mis.
4
>
407
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Manitou Island Association
(continued)
Cherry harvest Crews, 1927-1929
Name
1927 1928 1929
1920 Census Data
Nelson, Wikna
4
> 4
► 4
►
Oieii, Mrs.
4
►
Olson, Saiah
4
►
[Saiah K.], 21, daughtei of Chades and Segoid
Oiga (?), Mis.
4
»
Pedittjohn
4
»
Peisik, Martha
4
►
Petioskey, Joseph
4
1
Petioskey, Maigaiet
4
►
Pop a, Eddie
4
»
Popa, John
4
»
Popa, Tillie
4
»
Reed, Robert
4
►
Ruff, Goidon
4
►
Ruff, Howaid
4
►
Schellak, Elizabeth
4
►
Skeba, Alice
4
> 4
»
Smedley, Chadie
4
►
Smedley, L. (Lyle)
4
> 4
t
Smedley, Mis.
4
►
Sinidi, David
4
»
Smith, James
4
»
Smith, Maiion
4
►
Smith, Maivin
4
»
Smith, Mis.
4
►
Smith, Mis. Jessie
4
> 4
»
Smith, Nellie
4
►
Swenson, Mis.
4
>
Tuckei, James
4
»
Weinei, Beulah
4
»
Woziniak, Agnes
4
»
Woziniak, Mis.
Zywicki, Flank
4
»
Source: Manitou Island Association Farm Account Book, September 1924 - December 1929. Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore,
Empire, lYlicliigan.
408
Bibliography
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Abbreviations for Bibliographic References
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CMS-JN Chicago Maritime Society, John Newhall
Collection
LHM Leelanau Historical Museum Archives and
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LHM-BK Betty Kramer Collection, Leelanau Historical
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NPS
National Park Service
SBD-AF Angell Foundation Collection, Sleeping Bear
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SBD-MIA Manitou Island Association Collection,
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SBDNL Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
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414
Figure Sources
Bibliography
Chapter 1
Figure 1.0 SBDNL
Figures 1.1 & 1.2 Eric MacDonald arid Katie Franks
Figure 1.3 Eric MacDonald and Katie Franks; natural
features data derived frorn Brian T. Hazlett
and Robert J. Vande Kopple, The Terrestrial
Vegetation and Flora of North and South Manitou
Islands, SleepingBear Dunes National Takeshore,
Leelanau County, Michigan (Douglas Lake,
Mich.: University of Michigan Biological
Station, Technical Report No. 11, 1983).
Chapter 2
Figure 2.0 Eric MacDonald
Figure 2.1 Eric MacDonald and Katie Franks; derived
from Herman L. Weber, Soil Survey of
Teelanau County, Michigan (Washington, DC:
U.S.D.A. Soil Conservation Service, in
cooperation widi the Michigan Agricultural
Experiment Station, 1973).
Figure 2.2 Eric MacDonald and Katie Franks; derived
from Chades Edward Cleland, "The
Prehistoric Animal Ecology and
Etlmozoology of die Upper Great Lakes
Region," Anthropological Papers No. 29, (Ann
Arbor.: Museum of Anthropology,
University of Michigan, 1966).
Figure 2.3 Eric MacDonald and Katie Franks; derived
from Charles Edward Cleland, Rites of
Conquest: The History and Culture of Michigan 's
Native Americans (Ann Arbor: LTriiversity of
Michigan Press, 1992), and Helen Hombeck
Tanner, eA., Atlas of Great Takes Indian
History (Norrnan, Okla.: University of
Oklahoma Press, 1987).
Figure 2.4 Eric MacDonald and Katie Franks; derived
from Helen Hombeck Tanner, ed., Atlas of
Great Takes Indian History (Norman, Okla.:
University of Oklahoma Press, 1987).
Figure 2.5 Eric MacDonald and Katie Franks; derived
frorn Chades Edward Cleland, Rites of
Conquest: The History and Culture of Michigan 's
Native Americans (Arm Arbor: University of
Michigan Press, 1992), and Helen Hombeck
Tanner, ed., Atlas of Great Takes Indian
History (Norrnan, Okla.: University of
Oklahoma Press, 1987).
Figure 2.6 Eric AlacDonald and Katie Franks
Figure 2.7 Eric MacDonald and Katie Franks; derived
from Orange Risdon, "Original Survey
Notes," 1847, transcribed by Charles Kruch,
1989 (on file at SBDNL).
Figures 2.8-2.13 SBDNL
Figure 2.14 Botanical Gazette 27 , 1899
Figure 2.15 CMS-JN
Figure 2.16 SBDNL
Figure 2. 17 SBDNL; historic photo donated by Giles
Merritt.
Figures 2. 18-2.21 SBDNL
Figure 2.22 SBD-AF
Figure 2.23 Eric MacDonald and Katie Franks; derived
from historic plat map in SBD-MIA.
Figure 2.24 SBDNL
Figure 2.25 SBD-MIA
415
Tending a Comfortable Wilderness
Figures 2.26 & 2.27 Manitou Island Association brochure, ca.
1960s, MIAC
Figure 2.28 SBDNL
Figure 2.29 Eric MacDonald and Katie Franks
Figures 2.30 & 2.31 Eric MacDonald
Figure 2.32 CMS-JN
Chapter 3
Figure 3.0 SBDNL
Figure 3.1 Eric MacDonald; derived from homestead
records held by the National Archives and
Records Administration, Washington, D.C.
Figure3.2 SBDNL
Figures 3.3 & 3.4 CMS-JN
Figure 3.5 SBDNL
Figure 3.6 CMS-JN
Figure 3.7 SBDNL
Figure 3.8 CMS-JN
Figures 3.9-3.15 SBDNL
Figure 3.16 LHM-BK
Figure 3.17 CMS-JN
Figure 3.18 SBDNL
Figure 3.19 CMS-JN
Chapter 4
Figure 4.0 Edward Wood
Figure 4.1 Eric MacDonald and Katie Franks
Figure 4.2 Eric MacDonald
Figures 4.3 & 4.4 CMS-JN
Figure4.5 SBDNL
Figure 4.6 Eric MacDonald
Figure 4.7 Eric MacDonald and Katie Franks
Figures 4.8 & 4.9 Eric MacDonald
Figure 4.10 Eric MacDonald arid Katie Franks
Figure 4. 11 Eric MacDonald
Figure 4.12 Eric MacDonald and Katie Franks
Figures 4.13-4.20 Eric MacDonald
Figures 4.21 & 4.22 CMS-JN
Figures 4.23 & 4.24 Eric MacDonald
Figure 4.25 SBD-MIA
Figure 4.26 Eric MacDonald and Katie Franks
Figure 4.27 Eric MacDonald
Figure 4.28 CMS-JN
Figures 4.29 & 4.30 SBDNL
Figure 4.31 Eric MacDonald and Katie Franks
Figures 4.32-4.37 Eric MacDonald
Figures 4.38-4.40 CMS-JN
Figure 4.41 Eric MacDonald and Katie Franks
Figures 4.42-4.44 Eric MacDonald
Figures 4.45 & 4.46 Eric MacDonald and Katie Franks
Figures 4.47-4.52 Eric MacDonald
Figure 4.53 Eric MacDonald and Katie Franks; derived
from Historic American Buildings Survey
field notebook on file at SBDNL.
Figure 4.54 Eric MacDonald; derived from Jay D
Edwards, Louisiana's Remarkable French
Vernacular Architecture, 1700-1900 (Baton
Rouge: Department of Geography &
Andiropology, Louisiana State University,
1988).
Figures 4.55-4.58 Eric MacDonald
Figure 4.59 Eric MacDonald and Katie Franks
Figure 4.60 Eric MacDonald
Figure 4.61 Eric MacDonald and Katie Franks
Figure 4.62 CMS-JN
Figures 4.63-4.65 PaulMaleskiJr.
Figure 4.66 Eric MacDonald and Katie Franks
Figures 4.67-4.70 Eric MacDonald
Figures 4.71 & 4.72 CMS-JN
Figure 4.73 SBDNL
Figure 4.74 Eric MacDonald
Figures 4.75 & 4.76 Eric MacDonald and Katie Franks
Figure 4.77 Eric MacDonald
Figure 4.78 PaulMaleskiJr.
Figure 4.79 LHM
Figures 4.80-4.82 Eric MacDonald
Figure 4.83 CHS-JN
Figure 4.84 Eric MacDonald and Katie Franks
Figure4.85 Peter M. Maim
Figures 4.86-4.88 Eric MacDonald
Figure 4.89 CMS-JN
Figure 4.90 Eric MacDonald
Figure 4.91 LHM
Figure 4.92 Eric MacDonald
Figure 4.93 SBDNL
Figure 4.94 CMS-JN
Figure 4.95 Eric MacDonald
Figures 4.96-4.98 SBDNL
Figures 4.99-4.103 Eric MacDonald
Figure 4.104 CMS-JN
Figure 4.105 SBDNL
Figures 4.106 & 4.107 . CMS-JN
Figure 4. 108 SBDNL
Figures 4.109 & 4.110 .Eric MacDonald
Figure 4.111 Paul Maleski, Jr.
Figure 4.112 Eric MacDonald
Figure 4.113 SBDNL
Figure 4.114 Eric MacDonald
416
Bibliography
Figure 4.115 SBDNL
Figures 4.116 & 4.117 . Eiic MacDonald
Figure 4.118 Eric MacDonald; derived from Allen G.
Noble, Wood, Brick and Stone, vol. 1 (Amherst,
Mass.: University of Massachusetts Press,
1984).
Figures 4.119-4.127 Eric MacDonald
Figure 4.128 CMS-JN
Figure 4.129 Eric MacDonald
Figure 4.130 CMS-JN
Figures 4. 131-4. 134 Eric MacDonald
Chapter 5
Figure 5.0 SBDNL
Figure 5.1 Eric MacDonald
Figure 5.2 SBD-MIA
Figure 5.3 SBDNL
Figure 5.4 Eric MacDonald
Figure 5.5 CMS-JN
Figures 5.6 & 5.7 Eric MacDonald
Figure 5.8 Peter M. Mann
Figure 5.9 Eric MacDonald
Figure 5.10 SBDNL
Figure 5.11 Eric MacDonald
Figure 5.12 U.S. Department of Agriculture photograph,
National Archives and Records Administra-
tion, Washington, DC.
Figures 5.13-5.16 Eric MacDonald
Figure 5.17 SBDNL
Figures 5.18 & 5.19 CMS-JN
Figures 5.20-5.25 Eric MacDonald
Figure 5.25 Eric MacDonald
Chapter 6
Figure 6.0 SBD-AF
Figure 6.1 Eric MacDonald
Figure 6.2 Max Holdeii, SBDNL
Figure 6.3 CMS-JN
Figures 6.4-6.6 Eric MacDonald
Chapter 7
Figure 7.0 CMS-JN
Figures 7.1 & 7.2 SBD-MIA
Figure 7.3 Eric MacDonald
Figure 7.4 CMS-JN
Figures 7.5-7.7 Eric MacDonald
Figure 7.8 CMS-JN
Figure 7.9 SBDNL
Figure 7.10 Eric MacDonald
Figure 7.11 SBDNL
417
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Tending a 'Comfortable Wilderness
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Sleeping Bear Dunes National l^akeshore, Michigan
Eric MacDonald
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U.S. Department of the Interior
National Park Service
Midwest Field Office
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